/ 


"^ 


V. 


LIBRARY 

CALt^OtNIA 
SAM  0IC9O 


B.  I.  BARNATO 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Arciiive 

in  2007  witin  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


littp://www.arcliive.org/details/bibarnatomemoirOOraymiala 


B.    I.    BARNATO 

A   MEMOIR 


BY 

HARRY   RAYMOND 


WITH  PORTRAITS  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS 


New  York  :  E.  P.  BUTTON  AND  COMPANY 

31  WEST  TWENTY-THIRD  STREET 
1898 


»c. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I 

FOUNDING  A   FORTUNE 

The  story  of  the  book — The  South  African  Diamond  Fields — Henry 
Isaacs,  pioneer — The  Isaacs  family — Barnett  Isaacs  leaves  for  South 
Africa — His  financial  position— The  waggon  journey :  Capetown  to 
Diamond  Fields — The  name  "  Bamato  "  adopted — The  beginning  of 
wealth Pp.  H-20 

CHAPTER  II 

DIAMOND   DEALERS   AND   DIGGERS 

Diamond  mining — Difficulties  of  the  deeper  levels — Why  Barnato  stayed — 
The  very  clever  man — The  Barnato  Diamond  Mining  Company- 
Stewart's  claims  bought  —  Bamato's  business  reputation  —  Envy, 
hatred,  malice,  and  all  uncharitableness — Apparent  indifiference  to 
slander — When  Mylchreest  went  Home    ....        Pp.  21-32 


CHAPTER  III 

TWO   KINGS   OF   DIAMONDS 

The  pursuit  of  wealth — Diamond  mining  by  companies — Amalgamation 
necessary — Barnato  and  Rhodes — Their  different  objects — Business 
V.  Business  and  Imperialism — The  all-nigh  t  sitting — Objections  of 
shareholders — The  Chief  Justice  gives  judgment        .         .        Pp.  33-48 


6  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  IV 

TWO   KINGS   OF   DIAMONDS— (continued) 

Amalgamation  practically  completed  —  Barnato's  great  speech — The 
Financial  News  in  testimony — A  "  master  of  finance  "        .        Pp.  51-75 

CHAPTER  V 

BAR NATO    AT    BAY 

The  Kimberley  election,  November  1888 — Why  Barnato  became  a 
candidate — The  bitter  opposition — Rhodes  in  eulogy — Barnato's  first 
election  speech — The  grilling  of  J.  X.  Merriman — Barnato  refuses  to 
buy  Press  support Pp.  76-93 

CHAPTER  VI 

THE   KIMBERLEY   ELECTION 

The  election  contest — No  party  politics  in  the  Cape  Colony — A  disturbed 
meeting — Barnato's  last  election  speech — Reviews  his  Kimberley  career 
— A  clean  record — Barnato  heads  the  poll  and  then  helps  Rhodes — 
His  maiden  speech  in  Parliament—  Press  criticisms — Fulfilling  election 
pledges — The  Kimberley  police  incident — Barnato  carries  his  first 
motion  against  the  Government         •        •        *        .        .      Pp.  94-106 

CHAPTER  VII 

FROM   DIAMONDS   TO   GOLD 

Transvaal  goldfields — Barnato  visits  the  Rand — Misled  by  experts — 
Second  visit  and  personal  examination — The  "financial  Gibraltar  of 
South  Africa  " — Buys  gold  mines  and  building  sites — His  first  Rand 
gold-mining  company — His  firm  faith  in  the  permanence  of  the  gold- 
fields — "Wait,  have  confidence  as  I  have"        .         .  Pp.  107-116 

CHAPTER  VIII 

THE    REEFS  OF  THE   RAND 

From  Parliament  to  the  Rand  again— Barnato  at  the  Meyer  and  Charlton 
meeting  —  His    mastery    of   details — Difficulties     of    gold-mining  — 


CONTENTS  7 

Chemists    and    financiers — Money   and    patience — The    Johannesburg 

"Waterworks   Company — A  pledge  of  good  faith — A  veterans'  cricket 

match — Barnato  as  auctioneer — A  voice  from  the  profession 

Pp. 117-131 


CHAPTER  IX 

PRESIDENT  AND   FINANCIER 

Barnato's  relations  with  the  Transvaal  Government — The  Transvaal  Com- 
pany Unlimited — From  the  President's  point  of  view — About  concessions 
— The  President  and  the  Judges — The  Netherlands  Railway  Company — 
Railway  negotiations — Position  of  Johannesburg — Between  the  lions 

Pp. 132-143 

CHAPTER  X 

DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE   RAND     ' 

Barnato's  position — Advancing  the  railways — Johannesburg  1892 — Meeting 
of  waterworks  shareholders — A  specimen  of  his  work — The  Consolidated 
Investment  Company — The  rarest  success  of  all        .         ,     Pp.  144-160 

CHAPTER  XI 

PERSONAL  ANECDOTES 

Barnato  the  amateur  actor — His  last  stage  appearance — Racing  in  South 
Africa  and  England — Appreciation  of  actors — The  choking  of  Arthur 
Roberts — An  appreciation  of  Kingsley — J.  R.  Couper  on  Barnato — No 
lingering  death — The  romantic  marriage — Against  family  and  faith — 
Scandalising  Parliament — A  game  of  billiards — Spoiling  the  spoilers — 
The  building  of  mansions Pp.  161-174 

CHAPTER  XII 

LOUIS   COHEN'S   REMINISCENCES 

Barnato's  first  partnership  and  office — The  pony  that  drove  himself — A 
loyal  friend — Would  buy  an  ironclad — What  are  my  colours  ? — Getting 
in  the  water  rates — A  whisky  jelly  at  Birch's — Kimberley  stage  work 
— Barnato  v.  Cohen  and  the  return  match — Sleeping  extraordinary — 
Feeding  the  hungry Pp.  175-186 


«  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XIII 

REVOLUTION   AND   RAID 

Barnato's  peaultimate  visit  to  the  Rand — After  the  raid — His  exertions 
for  peace  —  The  prisoners  delivered — Barnato  the  conjurer — The 
Matabele  rebellion — His  scheme  of  relief — The  complaint  of  overw^erk 
— Kipling  appreciated — Trouble  with  the  water  company — The  last 
triumphant  departure         . Pp.  187-199 

CHAPTER  XIV 

THE   CLOSING   SCENES 

Last  months  in  England — Against  the  tide — The  hunted  man — A  pack  in 
full  cry — The  last  departure  for  South  Africa — Gathering  the  reins  at 
the  Rand — Weary  and  ill — In  Parliament  again — The  unfinished 
voyage        Pp.  200-208 


LIST  OF  PORTRAITS   AND   CARTOONS 


The  Last  Portrait  ..... 

The  Earliest  Portrait.    Age  23 

The  Diamond  Digger.    Kimberley  1879 

As  ^^The  Spitalfields  Weaver'^ 

As  the  Admiral  in  ^^  Black -Eyed  Susan" 

As  Colonel  Poindexter  in  ^' The  Octoroon" 


Frantis/iiece 


Page 

20 

25 
162 
164 
166 


Cartoons — 

The  Kimberley  Janus       ......  49 

Merriman  the  Calumniator 88 

Wasted  Ink 92 

The  Conjurer    . 191 


CHAPITER  I 

FOUNDING   A   FORTUNE 

The  story  of  the  book — The  South  African  Diamond  Fields — 
Henry  Isaacs,  pioneer — The  Isaacs  family— Barnett  Isaacs 
leaves  for  South  Africa — His  financial  position — The  waggon 
journey  :  Capetown  to  the  Diamond  Fields — The  name  "  Barnato  " 
adopted — The  beginning  of  wealth 

It  is  now  a  little  more  than  three  years  ago  that  I  inter- 
viewed Mr.  B.  I.  Barnato  on  behalf  of  the  South  African 
newspaper  on  whose  staff  I  had  then  the  honour  to 
serve.  The  interview  itself  was  a  success.  I  found  my 
subject  willing  to  talk  and  to  answer  every  question  I  put 
to  him,  and  when  I  had  obtained  all  the  information  I 
wanted,  he  said : 

"  You  must  let  me  see  a  proof." 

"No,  vou  cannot  have  that,""  I  replied.  "Your  answei"s 
will  be  published  exactly  in  your  own  words  with  such 
few  of  my  questions  as  are  necessary  to  make  the  whole 
plain.  At  any  rate,  if  you  want  the  proof  you  must  see  the 
editor." 

"  Very  well,  I  will  trust  to  you,  but  remember  I  want  what 
I  said  published  and  not  what  you  may  think  I  intended  to 
convey.  I  say  to  you  as  I  say  to  men  who  try  to  tell  my 
stories,  '  Either  tell  ""em  as  I  do,  or  else  tell  "'em  as  your  own 
and  nobody  will  care."" " 

I  wrote  the  interview,  some  column  and  a  half  being 
occupied  by  the  actual  Barnato  matter,  but  although  I  had 
met  him  many  times  before  and  had    seen  much  of  him,  I 


V2  B.  I.  BARNATO 

had  never  written  anvthinff  about  him.  In  an  introductory 
half-cokmni  I  therefore  gave  my  personal  impressions  of  the 
man  himself.  The  next  morning  the  whole  matter  appeared 
and  before  luncheon  Barnato  sent  for  me. 

"  I  have  read  the  interview,*"  he  began,  "  what  made  you 
begin  with  all  that  about  me?"" 

"  I  promised  that  what  you  said  should  appear  as  you  said 
it,  but  I  did  not  jiromise  not  to  add  anything  that  occurred 
to  me." 

"  Yes,  the  answers  are  all  correct  word  for  word  ;  and  your 
introduction,  which  came  as  a  surprise,  is  very  kind,  very 
kind  indeed." 

He  mused  awhile,  looking  out  of  the  window  with  his  back 
to  me,  and  then  turned  sharply  round. 

"  I  wonder  if  any  one  will  write  as  kindly  of  me  when  I  am 
dead." 

"  If  I  outlive  you,"  I  replied,  "  I  will  write  honestly  what  I 
know  and  think." 

"  Thafs  a  bargain  remember,  shake  hands  on  it,"  and  we 
shook  hands. 

It  was,  I  do  believe,  merely  a  joke  on  his  part  at  the  time, 
as  it  certainly  was  on  mine ;  and  on  many  later  occasions 
he  laughingly  expressed  the  hope  that  I  was  keeping  up  to 
date. 

That  promise  lightly  given,  I  now,  with  a  deep  sense  of 
responsibility,  attempt  to  redeem. 

I  have  not  to  write  a  biography,  for  my  subject  was  above 
all  things  else  a  business  man,  and  the  daily  routine  of  a 
business  man  is  a  weariness  ;  but  I  do  hope  to  produce  a 
memoir  in  which  those  who  knew  him  shall  find  his  stories 
told  in  his  own  words,  and  from  which  those  who  did  not 
know  him  shall  be  able  to  gather  what  sort  of  a  man  the 
Barney  of  the  old  Kimberley  camp  days  and  the  astute  financier 
of  Johannesbui-g  and  London  City  was. 

It  is  now  nearly  thirty  years  ago  that  the  first  diamonds 
were  discovered  in  South  Africa  on  the  banks  of  the  Vaal 


FOUNDING  A   FORTUNE  13 

River  and  on  the  veld  adjoining  Colesberg  Kopje,  now  the 
very  centre  of  the  town  of  Kiniberley,  and  represented  by  the 
yawning  gulf  of  the  great  open  Kimberley  mine.  From  1869 
a  constant  flood  of  men,  and  of  women  too,  of  all  nationalities 
and  occupations,  began  to  flow  steadily  northwards  to  the 
Diamond  Fields,  There  were  three  modes  of  conveyance,  the 
most  expensive  and  comfortless  being  the  post-cart  taking 
three  passengers  only;  the  slightly  less  expensive  and  very 
little  more  comfortable  coach,  carrying  sixteen  inside  pas- 
sengers and  drawn  by  teams  numbering  from  eight  to  twenty 
horses,  mules,  or  both  according  to  locality  ;  and  the  leisurely, 
but  most  comfortable  and  safe  ox-waggon.  After  the  first 
rush  and  during;  the  next  three  vears  the  alluvial  workin^js 
were  much  neglected  in  favour  of  mining  the  yellow  surface 
earths  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Colesberg  Kopje,  and 
when  this  itself  was  found  to  be  diamondiferous  it  was  quickly 
pegged  off' into  claims,  with  the  result  that  the  Kopje*  dis- 
appeared and  was  literally  rooted  out,  a  vast  hole  900  feet 
deep  now  appearing  in  its  place. 

By  1871  there  were  gathered  on  the  Diamond  Fields  in  a 
series  of  camps,  known  only  by  the  names  of  the  original 
farms  on  \\  hich  they  were  situated,  some  4000  white  people 
with  four  times  that  number  of  Kafii-s.  Griqualand  West, 
the  district  in  which  the  Diamond  Fields  are  situated,  is  a 
region  of  flat  plains  covered  with  thick  blue  grass  after  the 
rains,  but  otherwise  barren  of  all  vegetation  except  that  the 
mimosa  marks  the  coui'ses  of  the  beds  of  the  torrents.  There 
was  no  building  timber  within  hundreds  of  miles,  everything 
had  to  be  brought  bv  the  ox-waffgon  over  700  miles  of 
broken  country ;  happy  indeed  was  the  man  who  could  secure 
decently  large  packing-case  wood  to  make  a  hut,  and  was 
able  to  render  it  waterproof  by  ingeniously  nailing  on  tin 
linings.  To  possess  a  good  strong  double  tent  was  to  live  in 
a  luxurious  mansion.     It  was  in  this  year  that  there  arriA  ed 

*  A  Cape-Dutch  word  in  general  use  throughout  South  Africa,  signifying 
a  small  hill. 


14  B.  I.  BARNATO 

on  the  Diamond  Fields  a  young  Hebrew  who,  being  willing  .to 
turn  his  hand  to  whatever  offered,  and  having  made  some 
reputation  at  Home  as  an  amateur  conj  urer  and  entertainer, 
thought  an  opening  might  be  made.  His  given  and  family 
names  were  Henry  Isaacs,  and  thinking  his  chance  would  be 
greater  as  a  public  entertainer  than  in  any  other  direction,  he 
adopted  the  professional  name  of  Barnato  in  addition.  As 
fortune  willed  it,  Henry,  or  to  give  him  the  camp  familiarity, 
Harry  Barnato,  found  that  his  efforts  at  public  entertaining 
were  too  strictly  amateur  to  suit  his  slender  purse ;  and  he 
obtained  other  more  remunerative  employments  which  led  in 
a  few  months  to  his  being  engaged  wholly  in  the  occupation 
of  dealing  in  diamonds.  The  slang  camp  term  indeed  for 
this  was  "  kopje  wallopper,"  derived  from  the  circumstance  that 
in  the  earliest  days  the  diamonds  were  obtained  from  a 
number  of  kopjes  or  small  hills  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
camp,  and  the  dealers  travelled  on  foot  from  one  to  the  other 
purchasing  the  finds  as  they  were  turned  out  at  the  sorting 
tables.  Those  early  days  in  Kimberley  were  rough  indeed  so 
far  as  the  labour  went,  for  the  Kafirs  dug  out  the  diamondi- 
ferous  earth  and  carried  it  to  a  rough  table  or  perhaps  packing 
case  only,  where  the  claim  owner  himself  sorted  it  over, 
picking  out  all  the  diamonds  he  could  see.  How  carelessly 
and  hastily  the  sorting  was  done  is  attested  to  this  day  by 
the  number  of  men  who  make  a  living,  and  occasionally  much 
more,  by  debris  washing — i.e.,  re-sorting  the  old  waste  heaps. 
By  the  end  of  1871,  Harry  Barnato  found  that  there  was  not 
only  a  living  to  be  obtained  on  the  Diamond  Fields  for 
himself,  but  that  there  were  abundant  opportunities  for  his 
younger  brother,  Bamett  Isaacs,  familiarly  known  as 
"  Barney,""  and  he  wrote  home  advising  that  Barney  should 
come  out  at  once. 

The  younger  brother,  the  subject  of  this  memoir,  who  was 
so  soon  to  surpass  in  fame  and  the  variety  of  his  business  the 
senior  and  predecessor  in  South  Africa,  was  the  third  child 
and  second  son  of  a  worthy  and  pious  Hebrew,  Isaac  Isaacs,, 


FOUNDING    A   FORTUNE  15 

whose  ancestors  had  for  many  generations  been  domiciled  in 
London.  The  grandfather  was  a  rabbi  of  the  synagogue  in 
the  neighbourhood,  a  very  learned,  deeply  religious  man  of 
great  reputation  among  the  Hebrews,  but  Isaac  Isaacs  found 
that  his  bent  was  more  towards  an  active  life  and  the 
cultivation  of  commercial  relations  with  his  fellows.  He 
succeeded  in  establishing  himself  in  a  small  house  and  shop  in 
a  turning  out  of  Aldgate  as  a  general  dealer ;  and  here  he 
remained  until,  at  the  solicitation  of  his  successful  children, 
he  retired  from  business,  and  transferred  his  simple  habits 
of  life  to  the  elaborate  setting  of  a  West  End  mansion. 
The  old  house  and  all  adjoining  buildings  have  been  swept 
out  of  existence  by  recent  County  Council  improvements, 
but  in  that  humble  abode  Isaac  Isaacs  and  his  wife  Leah, 
a  relative  of  the  late  Sir  George  Jessel,  Master  of  the 
Rolls,  reared  their  family  of  five  children,  three  daughters 
and  the  two  boys  Henry  and  Barnett.  The  business 
was  always  fairly  prosperous  and  the  circumstances  of  the 
family  were  very  comfortable,  far  removed  from  the  deep 
poverty  in  which  many  of  their  co-religionists  in  the  neigh- 
bom-hood  exist.  The  children  were  all  educated  exclusively 
at  the  Hebrew  Free  School,  established  some  seventy  years 
ago,  in  Bell  Lane,  Spitalfi  elds,  one  of  the  noblest  of  Hebrew 
institutions,  which  from  the  beginning  has  been  an  excellent 
type  of  a  voluntary  elementary  school,  although  the  cumculum 
is  decidedly  above  that  of  the  modern  higher-grade  Board 
school.  The  boys  were  fortunate  in  being  under  Moses 
Angel,  the  most  celebrated  headmaster  of  the  school,  and  an 
eminent  contributor  to  educational  literature.  The  late 
Right  Hon.  W,  E.  Forster  consulted  him  many  times  during 
the  framing  of  the  School  Board  Bill  of  1870  and  the 
compilation  of  the  subsequent  Education  Code,  and  freely 
acknowledged  his  indebtedness.  On  attaining  the  age  of 
fourteen  years  they  each  left  school,  and  this  sufficed  as  the 
foundation  of  their  after  brilliant  careers,  for  neither  was 
studiously  inclined,  and  here  their  book-learning  ended.     For 


16  B.  I.  BARNATO 

a  few  yeai-s  they  aided  their  father  in  his  business,  and  when 
Henry  left  home  to  try  his  fortune  in  South  Africa,  Barney, 
then  eighteen  yeare  old,  had  already  made  some  reputation  as 
a  sharp,  keen  business  man.  There  seemed,  however,  to  him 
to  be  little  chance  of  materially  improving  his  fortunes  in 
England,  and  when  Henry's  welcome  letter  arrived  he  at  once 
decided  to  go.  The  passage-money  and  outfit  presented  no 
difficulty,  for  he  was  never  without  money  of  his  own  from 
the  age  of  fifteen  or  sixteen  years,  and  at  this  time  his 
resources  exceeded  in  ready  cash  one  hundred  pounds.  Of 
coui'se  this  was  husbanded  as  carefully  as  possible,  and  on 
an'ival  at  Capetown  he  still  had  in  his  pocket  between  fifty 
and  sixty  pounds.  On  the  eve  of  leaving  London  a  few  of 
his  old  schoolfellows  clubbed  together  and  presented  him  with 
a  watch.  Years  after,  when  many  times  a  millionaire,  the 
same  watch,  as  carefully  preserved  as  the  circumstances  of  a 
rough  life  allowed,  accompanied  him,  still  in  good  going 
order. 

Barnett  Isaacs,  together  with  a  cousin,  Barnett  Han-is, 
sailed  for  Capetown  in  July  1873,  by  the  Union  Steamship 
Company"'s  Anglian,  that  being  her  maiden  voyage,  and  after 
an  uneventful  passage  of  twenty-seven  days  landed  at  Cape- 
town. He  was  then  in  his  twenty-first  year,  full  of  energy 
and  determination,  as  he  was  to  the  last ;  and  with  his  youthful 
imagination  fired  by  the  published  reports  of  the  wealth  of 
the  Diamond  Fields,  coiToborated  by  the  more  guarded  state- 
ments in  his  brother  Henry^'s  letter,  he  determined  before 
leaving  London  to  go  straight  away  to  the  Fields  without 
delay,  and  try  if  it  was  possible  to  secure  a  share  of  the 
glittenng  wealth,  and  from  this  he  was  not  to  be  dissuaded. 
He  has  himself,  in  a  story  contributed  to  the  Christmas 
number  of  the  Pelican,  told  how  he  encountered  on  the  stoep 
of  the  Masonic  Hotel  at  Capetown  an  individual  clad  in 
gorgeous  raiment,  ornamented  with  a  profusion  of  laigr; 
diamonds,  who  asked  his  name  and  where  he  was  going  to ;  and 
on  learning  that  the  Fields  were  his  destination,  endeavoured 


FOUNDING  A  FORTUNE  17 

to  change  his  resolution,  saying  that  he  had  himself  cleared 
out  all  the  diamonds  that  were  there.  Of  course  the  young- 
ster was  a  little  cast  down  at  this,  but  still  stuck  to  the 
determination  to  see  for  himself,  especially  as  brother  Henry 
was  there  already.  Yeai-s  after  he  met  the  same  stranger  in 
Johannesburg,  and  was  asked  how  he  manacled  to  become 
chairman  of  the  De  Beers  Company. 

"  By  not  taking  your  advice,"  was  the  reply. 
The  story  is  a  pretty  one,  but  it  has  gone  round  so  many 
times  already  that  I  may  mention  without  spoiling  any  one"'s 
relish,  that  its  author  classed  it  among  his  many  successful 
works  of  fiction. 

At  Capetown  there  was  no  business  to  cause  delay,  and 
Barnett  Isaacs  wasted  no  time  in  arranging  for  his  con- 
veyance  up  country  by  a  train  of  waggons  belonging  to  the 
Diamond  Fields  Transport  Company.  In  describing  this  his 
fii*st  South  African  journey  he  afterwards  said : 

"It  occupied  nearly  two  months,  one  of  the  j oiliest  times 
I  have  ever  had.  The  accommodation  consisted  of  permission 
to  walk  alongside  a  waggon  when  it  moved,  and  to  sleep 
under  it  when  it  stopped.  I  made  my  first  acquaintance 
then  with  mealie  pon'idge  and  biltong,  and  have  a  keen  relish 
for  both  still.  I  had  not  been  very  well  or  bright  for  some 
months  before  leaving  England,  but  the  waggon  journey,  or 
rather  tramp  over  the  veld,  put  me  right  and  I  marched  into 
Dutoitspan  fit  for  anything." 

On  arrival  on  the  Fields  the  name  of  Bamett  Isaacs 
disappeared  for  ever,  for  he  at  once  adopted  Han'y''s  profes- 
sional name,  and  henceforth  became  B.  I.  Barnato ;  though 
ever,  to  not  merely  his  friends  and  relatives  but  to  people 
generally,  he  remained  plain  "  Barney."  At  this  time  Henry 
had  all  he  could  do  to  keep  his  own  head  above  water,  and 
so  Barney  set  up  in  business  for  himself  in  the  same  line,  a 
kopje  wallopper  on  a  very  small  scale.  One  of  his  earliest 
partners  was  Louis  Cohen,  and  for  the  thirteen  months  of 
their  partnership  they  messed  and  slept  together  in  one  small 

B 


18  B.  I.  BARNATO 

hut.  Close  and  rare  friends  these  two  men  remained  through 
all  the  vicissitudes  of  fortune,  until  death  separated  them. 
Louis  Cohen  tells  a  good  story  how  only  a  few  years  ago 
Barnato  said  to  him  : 

"  Lou,  I  will  forgive  you  everything  we  have  ever  differed 
ahout,  except  one." 

"  What  is  that  ?  " 

"  AVhy,  when  we  slept  in  that  hut,  you  used  to  pull  our 
only  blanket  off  me  every  night,  and  I  was  too  much  afraid 
of  you  to  ever  tell  you  of  it." 

The  partners  exj^erienced  very  hard  times  together  in  the 
first  year.  The  winter  was  an  exceptionally  severe  season 
even  for  that  altitude,  and  in  a  rough  and  ready  mining  camp 
the  cost  of  living  and  the  incidental  expenses  of  business  were 
of  necessity  very  high.  Both  partners  extended  their  previous 
acquaintance  with  the  sustaining  virtues  and  properties  of 
mealie  porridge,  becoming  expert  cooks  of  it  in  the  Kafir 
fashion,  and  exercising  carefully  every  possible  economy  to 
improve  their  financial  position.  At  the  end  of  the  }ear 
the  elder  brother  found  a  place  for  Barney  with  himself, 
and  the  firm  of  "  Bamato  Brothers "  had  its  first  small 
l)eginning. 

There  is  always  a  tendency  to  magnify  the  early  struggle* 
and  beginnings  of  successful  men,  and  already  Baniato\s  early 
Kimberley  history  is  surrounded  by  myths  sufficient  to  justify 
anticjuity.  In  this  particular  instance,  Barnato  himself  is  the 
author  of  many  yarns  put  fonvard  for  the  benefit  of  those 
who  would  not  be  content  with  the  prosaic  details  of  the 
daily  lives  of  two  young  men  struggling  to  gain  a  footing 
on  the  ladder  leading  to  prosperity.  From  these  he  always 
derived  much  amusement,  and  cuirencv  was  given  to  far 
more  than  his  own  fictions,  by  the  equanimity  with  which 
he  himself  regarded  any  story  however  absurd,  and  never 
offered  either  contradiction  or  correction. 

"  Well,  why  shouldn't  I  ?  '"  he  said.  "  A  man  M'ho  doesn't 
care  twopence  about  me  comes  with  a  yarn  and  asks  if  it  is 


<■ 

t 


FOUNDING  A   FORTUNE  19 

true.  I  say  '  Oh,  I  suppose  so,  go  and  ask  So-and-so,  he  will 
tell  you  what  really  occurred.'  Now  if  I  was  to  say  there 
was  not  a  word  of  truth  in  the  whole  story  I  should  not  be 
believed.  I  have  had  hundreds  of  men  come  to  me  for 
details  of  my  career.  If  I  told  them  the  truth  they  wouldn''t 
believe  me,  if  I  didn't  tell  "em  anything  at  all  they  A\ould 
go  off*  angry  and  try  to  write  nasty  things.  So  I  let 
them  talk,  find  out  what  they  want  to  hear,  and  then  tell 
it  to  them ;  and  they  believe  it  all  and  go  away  and  say, 
what  is,  perhaps,  the  only  absolutely  tnie  thing  they  will 
say,  that  I  am  not  a  bit  ashamed  of  my  origin,  and  never 
put  on  side.  If  you  do  not  like  it,  tell  me  what  else  I  can 
do  better."" 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  from  1874  till  1880,  the  brothers  in 
partnership  directed  their  whole  energies  to  the  accumulation 
of  money  to  form  a  war  chest  for  their  future  operations. 
Henry  devoted  himself  to  the  diamond  dealing  branch  of  the 
business,  and  Barney  to  all  the  growing  interests  of  the  firm 
outside  the  office.  It  was  practically  day  and  night  work, 
such  as  few  constitutions  could  stand,  and  killed  off  hundreds 
of  men  who  had  escaped  the  camp  fever  and  other  attendant 
evils.  All  day  keenly  at  work  in  the  office  or  among  the 
claims,  all  the  evening  and  greater  part  of  the  night  passing 
from  one  place  of  resort  to  another,  from  one  bar  to  another, 
joining  in  every  convei^sation  and  every  drink,  keeping 
thoroughly  abreast  of  all  that  was  going  on.  Pages  of 
detail  would  fail  to  convey  the  effect  of  all  this  work  and  the 
changing  position  of  Barney  in  the  camp  so  well  as  the  terms 
in  which  he  was  himself  described.  At  first  inquiries  as  to 
who  he  was  were  met  by  the  reply  : 

"  Oh,  that  is  Harry  Barnato's  brother." 
A  few  years  later  the  reply  to  the  same  question  was  : 
"  That  is  Barney  Bamato ;  Hany  Bamato,  the  diamond 
expert,  is  his  brother."" 

The  practical  result  of  this  intense  application  to  business 
was  that  in  1876  Bamato  Mas  enabled  to  buy  his  first  claim 


20  B.  I.  BARNATO 

in   the   Kimberley   mine,   and   to   start   in   the   business  of 
diamond  mining  himself,  instead  of  merely  dealing. 

The  photograph  reproduced  on  the  opposite  page  was 
taken  in  Kimberley  in  1875,  and  is,  I  believe,  the  earliest 
jjortrait  of  Barnato  now  in  existence.  The  friend  with  him 
sitting  on  the  chair  is  Mr.  C.  Moses. 


0  ^^1 

N««-->3 

'''>-i''''~^B 

-i 

><&«K^A'»'9u-^    ..Mra^Sil^^^^lH 

To  face  page  20 


CHAPTER  II 
DIAMOND   DEALERS   AND   DIGGERS 

Diamond  mining — Difficulties  of  the  deeper  levels — Why  Barnato 
stayed — The  very  clever  man — The  Barnato  Diamond  Mining 
Company — Stewart's  claims  bought — Barnato's  business  reputa- 
tion— Envy,  hatred,  malice,  and  all  uncharitableness — Apparent 
indifference  to  slander — When  Mylchreest  went  Home. 

It  is  difficult  for  the  present  generation  to  grasp  any  idea  of 
the  picture  of  life  presented  by  the  Kimberley  diamond 
mining  industry  at  the  time  of  Barnato"'s  arrival  on  the  Fields, 
that  is,  nearly  five  and  twenty  years  ago.  In  appearance,  for 
the  first  three  years,  the  Fields  resembled  nothing  so  much  as 
a  number  of  gigantic  tan-yards,  where  the  tan-pits  represented 
the  excavated  claims,  and  the  spaces  between  each  pit  stood 
for  the  roadways  and  haulageways  compelled  by  the  mining 
regulations  to  be  left.  No  man  had  any  idea  that  the 
diamondiferous  earth,  the  yellow  ground  that  was  then  alone 
known,  was  anything  more  than  a  mere  surface  deposit ;  and 
it  was  expected  that  such  a  system  of  working  in  the  style 
that  the  alluvial  ffold  regions  of  Australia  and  California  had 
rendered  familiar  would  suffice.  In  due  course  depths  of  a 
hundred  and  fifty  and  two'  hundred  feet  were  reached,  water 
difficulties  were  encountered  that  were  beyond  the  means  of 
individual  claim-holders  to  cope  with,  and  the  roadways  began 
to  cave  in  in  such  fashion  that  numbers  of  claims  were  left 
without  any  means  of  approach  or  egress.  At  each  place 
where  the  yellow  ground  and  consequently  the  diamonds  were 
found,  it  was  from  the  first  noticed  that  the  formation  was 


22  B.  I.  BARxNATO 

different  from  that  of  the  surrounding  country  ;  and  that  the 
dianiondiferous  earth  or  deposit  was  in  a  kind  of  basin,  with 
irregular  but  sharply  defined  edges.  Over  and  above  the 
pestilential  "  camp  fever,"  and  the  disordei-s  arising  from  im- 
proper food,  exposure,  iniusual  hardships,  and  the  other 
incidents  of  a  mining  camp,  the  difficulties  that  confronted 
the  diggei*s  were  :  first,  the  caving  in  of  the  roadways  from  the 
unexpected  depth  of  the  workings ;  second,  the  water  and 
drainage ;  third,  the  falling  in  of  the  rocky  sides  of  the  basin, 
or,  as  it  was  termed,  the  falling  in  of  the  reef.  The  first  of 
these  difficulties  \\as  beginning  to  be  encountered  when 
Baniato  an-ived  on  the  Fields,  and  was  overcome  in  the  most 
natural  manner  by  the  claim-holders  affected  joining  in  part- 
nei-ships,  so  that  their  series  of  claims  should  extend  towards 
the  edges  of  the  basin  at  each  mining  area.  The  depths  of 
the  blocks  of  claims  were  then  worked  by  stretching  steel- 
wire  hawsers  from  the  bank  to  the  bottom,  and  hauling  miners 
and  earth  alike  along  these.  Barnato's  first  purchase  ^\as 
a  block  of  four  claims  in  1876,  bought  certainly  to  great 
advantage,  and  well  situated  for  working.  Then  came  the 
water  difficulty,  which  was  met  by  the  action  of  the  Mining- 
Boards,  who  erected  j)umping  gear  and  levied  jjroportionate 
charges  upon  the  individual  and  groups  of  claim-holders  for 
the  services  rendered.  By  this  time  the  diamond  mines  of 
which  Kimberley,  where  Colesberg  Kopje  had  once  been,  and 
De  Beers  were  the  chief,  had  already  each  become  one  vast 
hole,  sections  of  which  were  worked  in  different  interests  ;  and 
the  resounding  twang  of  the  tightly  stretched  wire  hawsers, 
constantly  vibrating  under  the  swing  and  jn'essure  of  their 
loads,  was  a  peculiar  addition  to  the  ordinary  noises  of  the 
camp.  Then,  to  the  dismay  of  almost  all  men,  the  yellow 
ground  gradually  gave  out,  and  revealed  an  under  stratum  of 
dense  blue  rock,  varying  in  hardness  but  apparently  of  great 
thickness,  and  still  limited  laterally  by  the  walls  of  the  reef. 
It  was  now  recognised  by  many  of  the  closely  observant 
diggers  that  the  formation  was  volcanic,  but  examination  of 


DIAMOND   DEALERS  AND  DIGGERS         23 

the  blue  for  some  time  revealed  no  diamonds,  and  the  optimists 
were  rapidly  reduced  in  number.  The  water  charges  were 
increasing,  and  under  the  impression  that  the  mines  had  given 
out,  numbers  of  men  sold,  or  if  no  purchaser  was  obtainable, 
abandoned  their  claims,  and  cleared  out  with  what  they  had 
saved,  afraid  of  losing  all.  Barnato  held  on,  and  moreover 
bought  up  and  acquired  all  the  interests  he  could ;  for  he  was 
convinced  that  the  diamonds  were  still  there,  if  the  minei"s 
could  only  go  deep  enough.  Of  the  reasons  that  led  him  to 
this  conclusion  he  could  never  give  a  scientific  explanation, 
but  they  were  sufficient  to  himself.     He  said  : 

"  ITie  first  diamonds  discovered  in  South  Afi-ica  were  from 
the  Vaal  River.  Of  course,  they  did  not  gi'ow  there.  As 
with  gold,  they  were  merely  washings  from  some  bank  or 
had  been  brought  from  the  surface  of  the  land  by  floods. 
Then  at  Kimberley  we  had  the  diamonds  in  the  yellow 
ground  with  the  reef  all  round,  in  which  there  were  no 
diamonds  at  all.  To  the  many  men  of  science  and  geologists 
who  came  round  our  claims,  and  wondered  how  the  diamonds 
should  have  been  deposited  in  such  a  formation,  I  had 
nothing  to  say,  because  it  was  to  me  evident  from  the  fii-st 
that  the  diamonds  wei-e  never  deposited  at  all,  but  had  been 
forced  up  from  below.  We  had  in  those  days,  so  far  as  I 
remember,  and  I  do  not  forget  much,  only  one  visitor  among 
all  the  men  of  science  A\ho  seemed  to  be  able  to  take  in  what 
he  saw,  and  that  was  Dr.  Athei'stone  of  Gi'ahamstown,  Cajie 
Colony,  a  clever  doctor  and  a  man  with  eyes  he  could  use. 
He  declared  that  the  Kimberley,  De  Beei-s,  and  other  mines 
•were  old  volcanoes,  which  had  been  formed  under  tremendous 
pressure  at  the  bottom  of  a  great  deep  sea,  and  that  the 
diamonds  had  crystallised  out  under  the  pressure.  I  did  not 
care  for  any  of  his  theories ;  they  were  not  in  my  line.  But 
I  did  care  that  he  should,  as  a  careful  observer,  come  to  the 
same  conclusion  as  I  had,  who  knew  every  claim  on  the  Fields 
and  every  turn  of  the  reef — that  the  diamonds  came  from 
below  through  what  was  once  a  sort  of  tube  in  the  earth. 


24  B.  I.  BARNATO 

Then,  since  I  was  certain  that  the  diamonds  came  from  below, 
it  followed  that  there  must  be  more  lower  down ;  if  not  in 
the  blue,  then  on  the  other  side  of  it.  If,  as  Dr.  Atherstone 
theorised,  they  v,ere  only  formed  under  pressure,  then  at  the 
lower  depths,  where  the  pressure  must  have  been  greater, 
the  finds  should  be  larger,  richer,  and  of  better  quality  than 
in  the  yellow  ground  we  knew.  So  I  determined  to  go  on 
until  it  broke  me.  And  I  was  right;  it  didn't  break  me. 
We  soon  found  that  the  blue  itself  was  the  true  home  of  the 
diamond.  We  found  in  it,  as  I  expected,  more  and  better 
diamonds  than  all  the  yellow  contained,  and  even  now  that 
they  are  working  in  the  Kimberley  Rock  Shaft  at  a  depth  of 
1500  feet  there  is  no  sign  of  any  change  in  the  formation.  I 
believe  that  those  funnel  vents  of  the  old  volcanoes  go  on  for 
miles  more  than  it  is  in  the  power  of  man  to  work.  The  age 
of  the  really  big  diamonds,  surpassing  such  present  famous 
specimens  as  the  Koh-i-noor,  has  yet  to  come,  when  the  new 
Rock  Shaft  shall  reach  levels  many  times  deeper  than  the 
present.'" 

How  far  these  speculations,  and  hoj^es  for  special  results 
of  the  mines  in  the  future,  may  be  realised  it  is  impossible 
yet  to  say.  Certainly  the  blue  ground  now  worked  is,  on 
the  average,  much  richer  than  the  old  yellow  surface  ground, 
but  there  has  not  so  far  been  any  marked  increase  in  the 
average  value  of  the  blue  per  ton  as  the  depth  has  in- 
creased. 

However,  when  other  men,  daunted  by  the  ever-increasing^ 
cost  of  mining  and  the  apparent  end  of  the  diamondiferous 
earth,  were  clearing  out  as  fast  as  they  could  ;  Barnato,  led  by 
his  business  instinct,  which  never  seemed  to  fail,  and  by  plain 
common-sense  reasoning  from  facts  he  had  himself  observ^ed, 
stayed  on  and  profited.  He  tells  a  good  story  of  this  time 
which  is  not  among  his  works  of  fiction  : 

"  There  was  one  man  who,  from  the  time  I  first  began  to 
know  anything  of  the  mines,  I  envied.  He  had  some  of  the 
best  placed  claims  in  the  Kimberley  mine,  and  did  splendidly 


To  face  page  2j 


DIAMOND   DEALERS   AND   DIGGERS  25 

until  he  got  through  the  yellow  and  struck  blue,  the  bed 
rock  as  most  believed  it  to  be.  He  was  a  clever  man  and 
sharp — perhaps  some  would  call  him  '  sharper '' — so  he  obliged 
a  friend  by  finding  a  dumping  ground  in  his  claims  for  some 
worthless  yellow,  then  sold  for  whatever  he  could  get — four 
hundred  pounds  I  think  it  was — and  cleared  before  the  expected 
storm  could  burst  on  his  head.  But  those  claims  were  among 
the  fii'st  to  prove  that  the  blue  was  the  true  diamond  ground, 
and  he  could  not  have  bought  them  back  for  forty  thousand 
pounds.  The  man  is  still  living,  and  very  poor  after  a  life''s 
hard  work  ;  but,  oh  !  he  was  so  clever  and  so  sharp  ! 

"  What  ?  You  suppose  that  I  bought  those  claims  for 
the  four  hundred  pounds  ?  No,  I  am  sorry  to  say  I  never  had 
the  chance ;  I  knew  that  the  blue  had  been  reached  there,  and 
that  yellow  ground  had  been  dumped  in  to  cover  up,  and  I 
wondered  what  was  coming  next.  The  acts  of  an  able  man 
can  be  foreseen  when  his  surroundings  are  known,  but  who 
can  fathom  the  folly  of  the  fool  ?  I  would  have  given  eight 
thousand  pounds  for  those  claims,  and  they  went  to  a  new 
comer  for  four  hundred  pounds  ! "" 

Year  after  year,  by  patient,  unwearying,  untiring  industry, 
Rarnato  added  interest  to  interest  until,  in  1881,  he  was 
one  of  the  largest  shareholders  and  was  able  to  float  his 
first  company,  "The  Barnato  Diamond  Mining  Company." 
This  was  the  first  step  towards  the  afterwards  accom- 
plished amalgamation  of  all  the  mining  interests  in  and 
about  Kimberley  in  the  one  great  company  known  as 
De  Beers,  which,  by  its  most  capable  management  and 
enormous  resources,  now  has  such  far-reaching  interests  as 
to  control  effectually  the  diamond  output  of  the  whole 
world. 

P'or  the  photograph  of  Barnato  reproduced  on  the  opposite 
page,  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Louis  Cohen.  It  was  taken  at 
Kimberley  in  1879  or  1880. 

Barnato  saw  then  very  clearly  that  the  day  of  the  indi- 
vidual claim-holder  on  the  Diamond  Fields  had  passed  for 


26  B.  I.  BARNATO 

ever,  even  when  possessed  of  great  resources  and  owning  large 
blocks  of  claims.  In  spite  of  the  proved  value  of  the  blue 
and  the  reasonable  certainty  of  its  continuance  to  vast 
depths,  the  cost  of  mining  had  increased  beyond  all  expecta- 
tion ;  at  the  same  time  that  the  large  output,  with  claim - 
holders  actually  competing  to  effect  sales,  had  so  reduced  the 
price  of  diamonds  as  to  have  considerably  lowered  the 
returns.  With  the  ever  increasing  depth  of  the  open 
workings  the  charges  for  pumping  were  becoming  more  and 
more  onerous,  and  a  new  difficulty  and  source  of  expense  had 
appeared  in  the  shape  of  falls  of  reef.  Even  in  1881  some 
imi-ts  of  the  great  hole  of  the  Kimberley  mine  had  reached 
over  four  hundred  feet  in  de]ith,  and  from  the  width  of  the 
excavation  it  was  impossible  to  shore  up  the  sides  of  the 
basin  effectually.  This  reef  now  began  to  fall  in  in  ever- 
increasing  quantities,  and  many  a  wealthy  man  has  gone  to 
bed  at  night  secure  in  his  jwosperity,  only  to  find  in  the 
morning  that  thousands  of  tons  of  reef  had  fallen  on  his 
claims ;  and  that  its  removal  would  swallow  up  not  only  his 
profits  but  a  large  share  of  his  capital  before  any  further 
remunerative  work  at  the  covered-up  blue  could  be  under- 
taken. Certainly  the  Mining  Board  promptly  undertook  the 
work  of  clearing  the  reef,  but  the  charges  were  very  heavy ; 
and  it  became  evident  that  either  the  mine,  with  its  bound- 
Jess  wealth,  would  have  to  be  abandoned,  or  the  system  of 
open  working  would  have  to  be  changed  for  the  shafts,  drives 
and  levels  of  ordinary  underground  mining.  Therefore 
Bamato  formed  his  first  comjmny  and  brought  as  many 
claims  together  in  it  as  he  could,  to  lessen  the  exj^enses  of 
working  individual  blocks ;  and  to  avoid  the  reef  dangers  by 
substituting,  as  soon  as  possible,  underground  workings  for 
the  dangerous  toiling  at  the  bottom  of  the  gi-eat  hole. 
Shortly  after  this  he  had  an  opportunity  of  showing  his  faith 
in  the  permanence  of  the  mine,  and  in  his  theory  of  the  great 
central  volcanic  shaft  containing  blue.  Six  claims  in  the 
very  centre  of  the  Kimberley  mine  were  owned  by   a  man 


DIAMOND   DEALERS   AND   DIGGERS         27 

named  Stewart ;  and  they  were  the  very  last  claims  in  the 
mine  still  owned  by  an  individual  diojger,  all  the  rest  having 
passed  into  the  hands  of  a  bewildering  number  of  companies. 
According  to  Barnato''s  conviction  of  the  origin  of  the  mine, 
whoever  held  these  claims  held  the  very  key  and  centre,  and 
would  control  the  whole.  He,  therefore,  bought  them  over  the 
heads  of  every  one  else  for  no  less  a  sum  than  thirty  thousand 
pounds  a  claim,  a  record  price  on  the  Fields,  and  that,  too,  in 
face  of  an  apparently  declining  industry.  It  was  a  gi-eat  stroke 
of  business  and  fulfilled  all  his  expectations,  for  it  gave  him  the 
virtual  control  of  all  other  jjrojjei-ties  and  interests  in  the 
mine,  and  placed  him  in  the  position  of  chief  negotiator 
with  the  De  Reel's  group  for  the  formation  of  the  ultimate 
monopolist  company.  He  bought  for  his  money,  however, 
much  more  than  a  valuable  section  of  a  diamond ifero vis  crater 
situated  directly  over  the  great  shaft  of  the  long  extinct 
volcano;  he  bought  public  confidence  on  behalf  of  the 
diamond  mining  industry,  and  he  bought  a  pre-eminent  and 
recognised  position  as  an  able  financier  for  himself.  The 
men  who  had  left  the  Fields  had  not  been  slow  to  voice  their 
conviction  that  not  only  were  the  palmy  days  of  South 
African  diamond  mining  over,  but  that  it  had  ceased  already 
to  be  profitable,  hence  their  departure,  and  that  such  odd 
diamonds  as  might  be  hereafter  found  were  Avhat  they  had 
themselves  dropped  in  their  hurried  sorting.  The  early 
.scientific  visitors  were  not  the  only  men  who  could  not  read 
that  which  lay  open  before  them  ;  many  diggers  who  hatl 
worked  on  the  Fields  from  the  first  rush  ridiculed  all  idea  of 
the  volcanic  origin  of  the  mines,  declaring  that  they  were 
simply  gi-eat  hollows  into  which  diamonds  had  been  washetl 
in  some  not  undei'stood  manner.  All  attempts  made  by 
Bamato  and  those  vho  saw  with  him  to  restore  public 
confidence  in  the  future  of  the  industry  were  violently, 
unscrupulously  denounced,  as  the  effbi'ts  of  men  who  were 
deliberately  lying,  so  that  they  might  ])alm  off  on  the 
investing   public   that    which    they    knew    to    be   absolutely 


28  B.  I.  BARNATO 

worthless.  The  purchase  of  the  claims  and  the  enormous 
price  actually  paid  for  ijiem  were  made  widely  known  in  every 
detail,  and  were  evidences  not  merely  of  faith  but  of  con- 
viction in  the  future  wealth  of  the  mine  that  was  stronger 
than  all  the  fiery  and  vehement  denunciations  of  the 
disappointed  ones.  From  the  time  of  this  purchase  there 
was  exhibited  a  gradual  restoration  of  confidence  by  investors 
which  was  never  afterwards  withdrawn,  and  the  reputations  of 
both  Kimberley  and  Barnato  were  definitely  made. 

A  little  more  than  a  year  ago  a  bitterly  hostile  financial 
press,  and  many  other  journals  which  for  the  time  found 
there  was  good  copy  to  be  had  in  following  the  lead,  were 
denouncing  Barnato  on  practically  the  same  charge  as  of 
old — that  he  had  sold  to  the  public  properties  and  interests 
that  were  valueless  ;  and  a  suggestion  was  made  to  him  by  a 
friend  that  he  should  once  and  for  all  deal  with  such 
criticisms  by  issuing  a  complete  answering  statement. 

"  No,  I  will  not,"  he  said  ;  "  I  do  my  business  my  own  way, 
and  make  my  statements  when  I  want  them  made.  The 
time  has  not  yet  come.  You  forget  that  I  have  been  all 
through  this  before.  I  think  I  see  everything  that  the 
venom  of  disappointed  men,  the  malice  of  enemies,  and  the 
ignorance  of  the  rest  can  print  about  me.  I  tell  you  that 
all  this  is  nothing;  to  what  was  said  of  me  in  the  old  Kimber- 
ley  days.  I  remember  one  morning  then,  my  nephew  tried 
to  keep  one  paper  containing  a  specially  venomous  paragraph 
from  me,  and  I  said,  *  Show  it  to  me,  for  if  they  say  I  have 
murdered  my  father  and  robbed  my  sister,  there  is  nothing 
new  in  that,  it  has  all  been  printed  before  ! ''  Well,  I  lived 
all  that  down  by  going  straight  on  my  Avay  and  developing 
my  business.  Last  year,  if  I  had  proposed  a  tunnel  between 
the  Bank  and  Johannesburg,  the  public  would  have  rushed 
u})  the  shares  before  ever  })en  was  })ut  on  paper  for  details. 
I  haven''t  lived  the  years  since  those  Kimberley  days  for 
nothing.  I  know  more  now,  and  I  still  go  straight  on  my 
own  way."" 


DIAMOND   DEALERS   AND   DIGGERS  29 

In  the  early  eighties  Barnato  was  wholly  averse  to  taking 
any  share  in  politics,  but  he  took  a  leading  part  in  the  local 
government  of  the  Kimberley  district,  as  a  member  of  the 
District  Council ;  and  in  this  capacity,  no  less  than  in  his 
dealings  in  the  township  and  camp,  he  acquired  the  respect 
of  English  and  Dutch  alike  as  a  straightforward  plain- 
dealing  but  shai'p  man  of  business,  who  was  indeed  a  hard 
nut  to  crack.  This  well-earned  reputation  was  of  the  greatest 
value  to  him  in  his  subsequent  Transvaal  dealings.  During 
his  earliest  years  on  the  Fields  he  had  trafficked  in  not 
diamonds  alone,  but,  as  occasion  served,  in  every  description 
of  goods  and  farm  produce.  Referring  to  this  later  on,  he 
said  : 

"There  is  nothing  this  country  (South  Africa)  produces 
that  I  have  not  traded  in,  from  diamonds  and  gold  right 
away  through  wool,  feathers,  and  mealies,  to  garden  vege- 
tables. I  have  always  found  that  I  was  as  good  a  hand  at 
buying  and  selling  as  most  people  I  came  across,  and  my 
experiences  with  the  slimme  *  Dutch  farmers  on  the  Kimber- 
ley market  were  sometimes  very  queer ;  but  they  soon  found 
that  any  man  who  tried  on  a  game  with  me,  or  whose  goods 
were  not  up  to  sample,  had  a  bad  day  sooner  or  later.  When 
this  had  been  firmly  fixed  in  their  minds  we  became  gi-eat 
friends,  for  there  is  nothing  a  Dutchman  will  respect  you 
more  for  than  to  find  that  you  are  up  to  all  his  little  cunning. 
I  had  their  vote  solid  in  consequence  when  I  first  stood  for 
Kimberley  in  the  Cape  House  of  Assembly,  and  that  was  when 
I  wanted  every  vote  I  could  get.  So  strong  was  the  opposi- 
tion that  I  would  have  stood  a  better  chance  of  being 
returned  for  any  purely  Dutch  constituency  in  the  colony 
than  there.     Ah,  that  was  a  fight !  "*' 

A  mining  camp  is  scarcely  the  place  in  which  all  the  virtues 
would  be  expected  to  flourish,  but  the  old  Kimberley  camp 

*  A  Cape-Dutch  word  in  general  use  in  South  Africa,  signifying  sly, 
cunning,  with  a  propensity  for  cheating.  The  nearest  English  equivalent 
is  perhaps  "  knavish." 


30  B.  I.  BARNATO 

was  indeed  a  place  where  envy,  hatred,  malice  and  all  un- 
charitableness  reigned  supreme.  Of  all  the  forms  of  readily 
negotiable  wealth  the  diamond  is  the  smallest  and  easiest  to 
conceal  and  carry  about,  and  at  Kimberley  this  gem  was  and 
is  found  simply  embedded  in  earth  or  rock,  and  requires  only 
picking  out.  During  the  operations  of  blasting  rock,  digging, 
and  carting  the  diamondiferous  earth  frcm  the  mine,  the 
precious  stones,  sometimes  glittering,  sometimes  dull  and 
glassy  in  the  rough,  were  frequently  exposed ;  and  it  was  a 
great  temptation  to  the  actual  miners,  and  to  all  workmen, 
whether  white  or  black,  quietly  to  appropriate  the  wealth  for 
themselves.  The  first  few  years  from  the  discovery  of  the 
Fields  showed  clearly  that  without  special  effort  no  mining 
would  be  able  to  be  done  profitably  at  all,  for  it  has  been 
estimated  that  fully  fifty  per  cent,  of  the  finds  were  stolen. 
The  stealing  of  diamonds  became  a  special  branch  of  industry, 
to  which  numbers  of  white  men  and  coloured  devoted  them- 
selves ;  and  it  is  but  fair  to  acknowledge  that  the  black  man 
was  by  far  the  most  expert  in  the  first  operation  of  secreting 
the  finds  from  the  earth.  As  there  were  thieves  there  were 
necessarily  receivers ;  and  these,  who  bought  the  gems  in  the 
fii-st  instance,  and  conveyed  them  from  the  country  and  sold 
them,  made  huge  profits.  The  crime  was  termed  illicit 
diamond  buying,  and  was  generally  shortened  into  I.D.B. 
To  check  this  crime  a  special  court  and  special  police  with 
inquisitorial  powers  was  established ;  every  diamond  had  to 
be  described  and  registered  from  the  date  of  the  find  until  it 
left  the  country,  every  diamond  dealer  had  to  be  licensed  and 
have  his  books  always  in  order  for  the  inspection  of  the  police, 
and  for  the  slightest  irregularity  the  punishments  were,  and 
still  are,  ferocious  in  their  severity.  The  Diamond  Trade  Act 
did  not  kill  I.D.B.  but  made  it  very  risky  to  follow,  pro- 
fessionally or  casually. 

"When  Barnato  reached  the  Fields,  I.D.B.  was  rampant, 
and  so  it  continued  for  the  next  fifteen  years  until  quite  the 
end  of  the  eighties.     It  has  been  already  detailed  how  in  1876 


DIAMOND   DEALERS   AND   DIGGERS         31 

IJamato  with  careful  and  excellent  judgment  bought  his  first 
four  claims.  They  were  in  a  very  rich  part  of  the  crater, 
and  the  finds  there  were  phenomenal,  such  as  to  attract 
universal  attention.  Here  the  envy,  hatred,  malice,  and  all 
uncharitableness  were  made  manifest ;  for  amongst  those  w  ho 
had  not  gained  wealth,  and  amongst  those  who  had  not  been 
able  to  keep  it  when  gained,  the  whisper  went  round  that 
such  continued  richness  was  unnatui'al  in  claims.  The  next 
step  was  to  account  for  the  finds,  and  these,  rumour  said,  were 
not  legitimate ;  for  the  firm  was  engaged  in  I.D.B.,  and 
used  the  claims  as  a  means  whereby  the  illegal  purchases  of 
stolen  stones  could  be  placed  on  the  market  and  sold.  Of 
couree  no  one  ever  stated  this  in  so  many  words,  or  the  quick 
and  summary  processes  of  the  criminal  courts  would  have 
been  invoked  bv  the  Barnatos  for  the  punishment  of  the  vile 
slanderei's;  but  it  was  rumoured  and  rumoured  from  Kimberley 
to  Cape  Town  and  thence  to  London.  When  Barnato  first 
contested  Kimberley  at  the  1888  general  elections  for  the 
House  of  Assembly,  a  formal  and  complete  answer  was  given 
once  and  for  all  to  the  rumoured  charge,  and  his  opponents 
protested,  "  Oh,  why  answer  all  that,  it  was  only  camp  gossip, 
and  we  knew  there  was  no  truth  in  it."  He  ever  carried  a 
smiling  front  to  the  world.  AMiether  good  or  evil  was  said 
of  him,  he  appeared  always  the  same  pleasant-spoken, 
laughing  Barney,  ready  for  chaff  and  a  drink  with  any  one ; 
nor  is  it  probable  that  at  that  time  he  ever  admitted  the 
vicious  innuendoes  hurt  him.  But  after  the  struggle  of  those 
early  times  Avas  over,  A\hen  even  years  had  passed  sinte 
his  justification,  he  did  once  at  any  rate  acknowledge  how 
sorely  he  was  wounded. 

"  How  many  times  in  the  years  from  "76  till  "'88  I  have  felt 
inclined,  almost  determined,  to  quit  Kimberley  and  South 
Africa  for  ever.  I  was  making  a  pile  and  gathering  power ; 
but  I  had  enough  to  live  on,  and  should  have  been  free  from 
those  never-ceasing  rumoui's  because  of  my  good  fortune. 
No  one  knew,  or  ever  can  know,  how  hard  I  worked  for  it  all. 


32  B.  I.  BARNATO 

If  I  have  made  millions  I  have  worked  for  them  as  few  men 
ever  can  have  worked.  But  how  I  have  been  blackguarded 
by  men  who  could  neither  gain  nor  work  !  Men  do  not  often 
tell  all  the  truth  when  they  are  going  Home  in  triumph  and 
the  champagne  has  been  flowing  freely  at  farewell  banquets, 
but  no  truer  words  have  ever  been  spoken  than  when  Joe 
Mylchreest  cleared  with  his  pile  in  1888.  He  said  :  '  Though 
times  have  changed,  and  now  the  sun  is  shining  for  me,  yet  1 
cannot  but  i*ecall  the  cruel  days,  when  from  a  certain  clique  of 
my  fellow  citizens  every  form  of  slander  and  insinuation  was 
heaped  upon  me.  They  compassed  me  round  about  and  laid 
snares  for  me.  Men  of  the  Diamond  Fields,  you  can  never 
know  the  bitterness  they  caused  me.  And  why  ?  Because, 
as  my  friend  C.  J.  Rhodes  stated  the  other  day,  I  had,  by 
energy,  integrity,  and  perseverance,  done  better  than  ray 
neighbours  and  paid  my  way.  I  was  successful  and  becoming 
rich,  and  so  they  cried,  "  Down  w  ith  him  ! ''  ^ 

"There,'^  said  Baniato,  folding  up  again  the  paj:)er  from 
which  he  had  read  the  extract,  "  that  exactly  expresses  my 
owTi  feelings  at  that  time  and  for  years  before.  I  keep  that 
paper  carefully,  and  look  at  it  now  and  then.  I  had  more 
abuse  than  ever  Mylchreest  had,  and  for  a  longer  time,  but  I 
never  showed  that  I  felt  it ;  and  I  determined  never  to  give 
in,  but  to  face  it  out.  I  knew  that  if  I  only  stayed  long 
enough  I  should  get  justice.  So  I  stayed  and  faced  it  out, 
and  fought  that  Kimberley  election  as  no  election  has  ever 
been  fought  in  South  Africa  before,  and  came  in  at  the  head 
of  the  poll.  And  then  no  dog  barked.  DVe  understand .? 
D'ye  follow  me  .^" 


CHAPTER  III 

TWO    KINGS   OF   DIAMONDS 

The  pursuit  of  wealth — Diamond  mining  by  companies — Amalga- 
mation necessary — Barnato  and  Rhodes — Their  different  objects 
— Business  v.  Business  and  Imperialism — The  all-night  sitting — 
Objections  of  shareholders— The  Chief  Justice  gives  judgment 

The  year  1881  marked  the  commencement  of  a  new  and  very 
important  era  in  Barnato's  career.  He  had  left  school  at 
fourteen  years  of  age  to  assist  his  father  in  his  business  of  a 
general  dealer.  At  twenty-one  he  had  arrived  in  Kimberley 
with  a  little  over  J950  to  see  what  he  could  do  for  himself. 
He  pursued  the  business  of  a  general  dealer  still,  inasmuch  as 
he  bought  and  sold  anything  he  could  turn  over,  but  with 
his  brother  he  concerned  himself  chiefly  with  the  diamond 
trade,  and  soon  confined  his  attention  to  it.  In  1876,  being 
then  worth  about  =£^3000,  he  bought  his  first  claims  in  the 
Kimberley  mine,  and  his  purchases  soon  brought  in  a  steady 
income  averaging  =£^1800  a  week.  In  1880  he  visited 
England,  and  established  the  firm  of  Barnato  Brothers  as  a 
London  firm  of  diamond  dealers  and  financiers.  At  the  end 
of  the  year  he  returned  to  Kimberley  and  floated  his  claims 
in  the  Kimberley  mine  into  his  first  company,  under  the  title 
of  the  "  Barnato  Diamond  Mining  Company ,""  for  ^iPl  15,000. 
Hitherto  he  had  dealt  in  diamonds;  henceforth  he  was,  so 
far  as  his  Kimberley  career  was  concerned,  to  deal  also  in  the 
claims  whence  the  diamonds  were  derived.  Of  this  Barnato 
Company  it  need  only  now  be  said  that  it  paid  regular 
dividends  of  9  per  cent,  each  three  months,  36  per  cent.  2)er 

c 


34  B.    I.    BAUNATO 

annum,  until  it  fell  into  financial  difficulties  through  heavy  falls 
of  reef ;  then  Barnato  extricated  it  from  its  troubles  by  a 
loan  of  the  needed  money,  and  the  shareholders  had  ultimately 
a  very  handsome  return  on  further  amalgamation.  In  the  same 
year,  1881,  taking  advantage  of  a  booming  market,  Barnato 
floated  several  other  companies,  and  was  most  successful. 
While  he  was  thus  engaged  with  properties  in  the  Kimberley 
mine,  another  man  who  was  to  loom  largely  in  Kimberley 
affairs,  and  who  was  to  play  his  part  on  a  far  wider  stage 
than  that,  also  made  his  first  venture  in  company  promoting 
in  the  De  Beers  mine,  some  three  miles  distant ;  for  Cecil 
John  Rhodes  floated  the  first  De  Beers  Diamond  Mining 
Company  in  the  same  year.  De  Beers  mine  was,  like 
Kimberley,  the  filled-up  crater  of  a  long-extinct  volcano ; 
and  Rhodes,  beginning  exactly  as  Barnato  did,  first  bought  a 
few  carefully  selected  claims,  and  then  at  the  proper  time,  in 
a  rising  market,  floated  them  into  a  limited  company.  So  far 
as  the  difficulties  of  mining  went,  the  one  mine  was  an  exact 
counterpart  of  the  other,  and  all  the  working  difficulties  and 
reef  dangers,  which,  convinced  Barnato  that  the  Kimberley 
mine  was  no  longer  a  place  for  the  individual  claim-owner, 
operated  with  Rhodes.  Both  men  knew  every  foot  of 
groimd,  every  trend  of  reef  in  their  respective  scenes  of 
operation ;  both  were  firmly  convinced  that  the  diamonds 
came  from  below,  and  would  be  found  richer  in  the  greater 
depths  ;  and  each  looked  forward  to  the  amalgamation  of 
the  companies  and  interests  surrounding  him  as  the  only 
practical  means  of  reducing  the  cost  and  risks  of  mining. 
From  1881  the  history  of  the  one  man  is  the  history  of  the 
other,  for  they  were  advancing  on  converging  lines,  which 
were  as  yet  so  wide  apart  that  they  seemed  to  be  parallel. 

Nothing  is  more  certain  than  that  neither  Rhodes  nor 
Barnato  had  any  idea  then  that  they  would  be  brought  into 
direct  opposition.  The  idea  was  that  Rhodes  should  achieve 
the  control  of  the  De  Beers  mine,  Barnato  of  the  Kimberley 
mine,  and    that    then   they  should  jointly,  without  further 


TWO   KINGS   OF  DIAMONDS  35 

amalgamation,  control  the  diamond  output  and  trade.  Of 
the  two,  Rhodes  was  much  the  smaller  man  financially  ;  his 
claims  in  the  De  Beers  mine  were  much  poorer  and  more 
unfavourably  placed  than  were  Barnato's,  and  the  De 
Beers  Mining  Company,  which  he  formed,  was  in  the 
beginning  a  much  smaller  corporation  than  the  Barnato 
Diamond  Mining  Company.  Further,  while  Rhodes  was 
mainly  concerned  at  that  time  with  the  De  Beers  mine  alone, 
Barnato  having  always  steadily  in  view  his  constant  policy  of 
acquiring  controlling  interests  in  every  undertaking  that 
recommended  itself  to  his  judgment,  purchased  very  largely 
of  the  shares  of  the  De  Beers  Central  and  the  Oriental 
Companies.  These  were  the  two  principal  diamond  mining 
companies  in  the  De  Beers  mine,  having  their  claims  most 
favourably  situated  in  the  centre  of  the  mine ;  while  their 
ground  so  hedged  in  the  claims  of  the  De  Beei"s  Mining  Com- 
pany that  this  venture  had  either  to  absorb  them,  or  be 
absorbed,  before  its  area  of  speculation  could  be  extended. 
Rhodes  worked  for  amalgamation,  and  he  found  a  ready 
helper  in  Barnato ;  in  fact,  without  Barnato''s  hearty  agi'ee- 
ment  in  the  principle  and  objects  of  amalgamating  the 
companies  in  the  De  Beers  mine,  Rhodes  would  have  been 
stayed  at  the  commencement  of  his  career.  With  Barnato''s 
acquiescence,  Rhodes  amalgamated  his  own  company,  first 
with  the  De  Beers  Central,  then  with  the  Oriental  and, 
finally,  still  under  the  name  of  the  De  Beers  Mining  Com- 
pany, constructed  a  company  which  practically  worked  the 
whole  of  the  De  Beers  mine. 

Barnato,  on  his  part,  pursued  an  equally  active  and  similar 
policy  in  the  Kimberley  mine,  with  the  advantage  that  his  own 
first  company's  claims  were  some  of  the  richest  and  best  placed 
in  the  mine.  He  sedulously  extended  his  interests  in  the 
other  companies  in  the  mine,  engaging  in  this  all  the  resources 
that  his  firm  possessed,  until  he  succeeded  in  amalgamating 
with  the  Standard  Company,  bought  Stewart's  claims,  and 
then  joined  forces  with  the  Kimberley  Central.     There  was. 


36  B.   I.   BARNATO 

however,  still  remaining  in  the  Kimberley  mine,  and  unab- 
sorbed,  the  French  Diamond  Mining  Company,  holding  a 
very  important  section  of  the  mine  and  with  its  shares 
largely  held  and  controlled  from  Paris. 

At  this  point  the  position  of  these  two  chiefs  of  the  Kim- 
berley Diamond  mining  industry  was  therefore  that  Rhodes 
had  succeeded  in  amalgamating  the  various  companies  in  the 
De  Reel's  mine  into  one  company,  with  the  old  title  of  the 
De  Beers  Mining  Company ;  while  Barnato  had  brought  into 
the  Kimberley  Central  Company  every  claim  in  the  Kimberley 
mine  except  those  owned  by  the  French  Company  ;  and  even 
in  that  he  had  a  considerable  though  not  a  supreme  interest. 
They  had  then  achieved  their  immediate  objects,  for  each 
man  had  acquired  controlling  interests  in  his  own  part  of  the 
Diamond  Fields.  It  was  evident  to  both  that  the  next  thing 
to  be  done  was  for  Bamato  to  acquire  and  absorb  the  French 
Company,  and  then  they  could  themselves  join  forces  in 
reality,  though  each  was  to  keep  his  own  mine  distinct  from 
the  other. 

From  this  time  these  two  men  saw  clearly  that  their 
courses  were  not  even  apparently  parallel,  but  were  clearly 
converging  to  a  point  beyond  which  they  nmst  either  travel 
together  in  union  or  one  must  be  left.  It  did  not  seem  likely 
that  there  would  be  any  difficulties  in  the  way  of  travelling 
together ;  so  far  their  objects  had  been  the  same,  and  they 
had  been  frankly  and  cordially  in  sympathy  ;  but  when  they 
came  together  to  agree  upon  their  future  course,  and  to 
sketch  the  outline  of  the  desired  gi'eat  company,  serious  differ- 
ences of  opinion  arose. 

"With  Barnato,  be  it  remembered,  the  whole  matter  was 
purely  one  of  business,  and  with  no  thought  beyond  securing 
the  most  certain  and  permanent  profit  possible  for  his  share- 
holders. At  the  Kimberley  mine  there  were  some  twenty 
different  shafts,  with  a  number  of  companies  all  working 
on  their  own  account  with  varying  methods ;  while  some 
were   still    working   in    the    open,   and    determined  to  con- 


TWO  KINGS   OF  DIAMONDS  37 

tinue  doing"  so.  He  saw  that  with  the  whole  mine 
under  one  management  the  expenses  would  be  so  reduced 
that  a  larger  profit  would  accrue  from  a  much  smaller 
output ;  therefore,  that  if  the  whole  of  the  mines  in  the 
Kimberley  district  were  under  the  same  management,  the 
cost  of  working  and  establishment  charges  would  not 
only  be  reduced  to  a  minimum,  but  the  output  of  diamonds 
might  be  so  controlled  that  the  price  could  be  regulated 
by  taking  care  that  the  supply  never  exceeded  the  demand. 
In  some  cases,  diamonds  had  been  sold,  owing  to  the  keen 
competition  between  sellers  previously  adverted  to,  at  as  low 
as  10s.  a  carat ;  whereas,  under  the  best  management  in  the 
most  favourably  situated  parts  of  the  mines,  the  cost  of 
production  exceeded  15s.  a  carat.  To  lessen  cost  and  to 
control  price  was  Barnato''s  sole  object. 

With  Rhodes,  on  the  other  hand,  all  this  was  merely  a 
means  to  an  end.  He  desired  to  do  all  that  Barnato  had  in 
view,  but  when  this  great,  powerful  monopolist  company  had 
been  created,  he  desired  to  use  that,  and  a  portion  of  its 
enormous  reserve  wealth  for  the  purpose  of  extending  the 
British  Empire  over  the  vast  fertile  districts  and  auriferous 
lands  to  the  north ;  where  the  conquering  Matabele  had  dis- 
possessed the  unwarlike  tribes,  and  was  maintaining  a  savage 
despotism.  There  had  been  a  rush  for  the  partitioning  of 
Africa.  Rhodes  had  by  his  energy  and  personal  influence 
succeeded  in  retaining  for  Cape  Colony  the  option  over 
Bechuanaland,  as  the  only  road  to  the  North  for  any  possible 
expansion  and  extension ;  and  to  render  the  future  expansion 
possible,  he  had  determined  that  he  would  secure  the  gi'eat 
wealthy  monopolist  company  for  his  "jumping-off  place."" 
He  used  the  phrase  himself  then,  and  it  passed  unnoticed  • 
for  to  the  people  of  the  Homeland,  Kimberley  was  merely 
a  town  that  produced  diamonds,  situated  in  what  was 
otherwise  a  poor  and  struggling  part  of  the  unheeded  colonial 
empire. 

Barnato  was  not  by  any  means  deficient  in  pride  of  his 


38  B.   I.   BAKNATO 

British  birth  and  citizenship.  In  the  cosmopolitan  popula- 
tion of  the  Diamond  Fields  he  gloried  in  his  birthright. 
Later  on,  in  the  Transvaal,  he  declared  that  under  no  circum- 
stances would  he  ever  become  a  burgher  of  the  Republic,  or 
ask  for  a  franchise  that  would  mean  foi-swearing  his  allegiance 
as  a  British  subject  and  an  Englishman,  He  could  not, 
however,  see  eye  to  eye  with  Rhodes  that  the  business  of 
Kimberley  should  be  made  possibly  subsei'vient  to  a  policy  of 
empire  extension.  He  would  make  as  much  as  possible  out 
of  the  amalgamation,  when  it  came,  for  himself  and  the 
shareholders  in  the  companies  who  had  had  confidence  in 
him  and  followed  his  lead  ;  and  whatever  he  himself  made  as 
his  own  share  he  would  devote  to  the  extension  of  his 
business  or  to  any  object  he  thought  proper.  Why  was  this 
full  liberty  of  personal  action,  the  right  to  do  with  his  own 
as  he  chose,  not  sufficient  for  Rhodes  ?  Why  should  he 
insist  on  so  drafting  the  trust  deed  of  the  amalgamated 
company  they  both  desired,  as  to  enable  the  company''s  funds 
to  be  applied,  not  merely  for  purposes  of  business,  but  for 
the  furtherance  of  patriotic  sentiment  ? 

If  the  opening  up  and  government  of  territories,  with  all 
that  it  entailed,  came  in  the  way  of  business,  it  could  always  be 
an-anged  for  and  a  new  departure  made  for  the  purpose  ;  but 
Barnato  wa^  clearly  and  definitely  of  opinion  that  it  was  a 
bad  precedent,  and  bad  in  principle,  to  make  provision  for  all 
this  in  the  trust  deed  of  a  company  whose  first  and,  he 
considered,  sole  object  of  existence  was  the  production  of 
diamonds  and  the  control  of  the  diamond  markets  of  the 
world.  There  was  no  personal  antagonism  in  this,  and  which 
man  was  in  the  right  is  not  for  this  generation,  possibly  not 
for  several  generations  yet  to  come,  to  say. 

The  first  hostile  movement  in  the  Barnato-Rhodes  war  was 
made  by  Rhodes.  Bamato  had  proposed  terms  for  the  amal- 
gamation of  the  French  Company  with  the  Kimberley  Central 
Company,  which  held  all  the  rest  of  the  Kimberley  mine; 
when  Rhodes,  after  a  visit  to  Europe,  during  which  he  en- 


TWO   KINGS   OF  DIAMONDS  39 

listed  considerable  financial  support,  suddenly  put  forward  a 
scheme  whereby  the  control  of  the  French  Company  was  to 
pass  to  himself.  Many  meetings  were  called  of  the  share- 
holders of  the  Company,  for  the  purpose  of  pressing  the 
acceptance  of  Ehodes\s  proposal  upon  them  ;  but  at  all  it  was 
made  evident  that  Barnato,  though  not  actually  dominating  the 
French  Company,  was  able  to  exert  sufficient  influence  to  ensure 
the  rejection  of  any  scheme  of  which  he  did  not  aj^prove. 
Then  Rhodes  and  Baniato  each  tried  to  increase  their  influ- 
ence in  the  Company  by  buying  all  the  shares  that  came  on 
the  market,  and  in  this  operation  the  advantage  proved  to  be 
with  Rhodes ;  for  while  all  the  shares  that  he  commanded  or 
bought  were  retained,  many  of  the  shareholders  who  were 
Barnato's  pledged  supporters  found  themselves  unable  to  resist 
the  temptation  of  the  high  price  to  which  the  shares  rose  in 
consequence  of  the  competition,  and  basely  sold  to  the  enemy. 
Barnato,  in  short,  found  that  he  was  being  betrayed  by  his 
own  soldiers,  and  that  he  was  competing  with  Rhodes  for 
shares  that  his  own  adherents  had  sold. 

As  Rhodes  had  commenced  the  war,  so  he  commenced  nego- 
tiations for  peace.  AVith  characteristic  impetuosity  he  came 
himself  to  Barnato,  and  representing  that  it  was  of  no  use  for 
them  to  continue  a  fight  which  was  merely  a  benefit  to  traitors, 
offered  Barnato  a  cheque  for  a  very  large  sum  if  he  would 
withdraw  his  objection  to  the  proposals  for  acquiring  control 
of  the  French  Company.  Rhodes  has  often  told  the  story 
himself,  when  servile  flatterers  and  persons  ignorant  of  the 
facts  have  talked  and  written  of  his  easy  victories  over  Bar- 
nato. The  reply  to  this  offer  was  made  by  Barnato  in  these 
words : 

"  No.  If  I  could  see  that  your  scheme  would  be  for  the 
benefit  of  the  shareholders  in  the  French  C'ompany,  I  would 
never  have  objected  to  it.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Central 
Company  offered  better  terms  than  you  do,  and  I  cannot 
accept  your  offer."'"' 

"  Well,""  said  Rhodes,  "  if  you  will  withdi'aw  your  opposi- 


40  B.    I.    ]L\11NAT0 

tion  I  will  give  you  a  cheque  to  cover  all  that  you  think  you 
lose  by  allowing  my  oft'er  to  pass/' 

"  No  ;  that  won't  do.  It  would  put  me  all  right,  but  what 
about  the  shareholdei-s  in  the  French  Company  who  have  con- 
fided their  interests  to  me  ?  " 

At  length,  after  nmch  negotiation,  a  compromise  was 
an-ived  at,  by  which  the  French  Company  passed  into  the 
Central,  and  Rhodes  acquired  a  large  interest  in  that  Company. 

The  fight  for  supremacy  thus  commenced  and  continued. 
Barnato  took  up  a  defensive  position  and  bought  up  every 
share  and  interest  in  the  Kiniberley  mine  that  he  could,  so 
that  all  power  should  be  in  the  hollow  of  his  hand.  Rhodes, 
with  the  powerful,  j)ractically  inexhaustible  financial  support 
of  the  historic  house  of  the  Rothschilds,  assumed  the  offensive, 
and  endeavoured  to  buy  further  interests  in  the  Kimberley 
mine,  so  as  to  turn  Barnato's  flank.  This  was  a  case  in 
which  the  advantages  did  not  rest  with  the  defensive ; 
for  while  the  whole  weight  of  the  attack  was  under  one 
control,  and  all  the  shares  that  Rhodes  could  buy  Mere 
fast  held, — all  the  rest  were  presumably  against  him, — the 
defence,  though  led  by  Barnato,  had  in  detail  again  to  be  left 
to  individual  shareholders,  who  it  was  conceivable  might  be 
bought  out  by  considerations  of  present  profit.  This  proved 
to  be  the  case.  Each  month  Barnato  found  the  siege  be- 
coming more  and  more  severe,  and  that  the  enemy  was 
steadily  gaining  ground.  At  last  Rhodes  directed  his  whole 
force  on  the  great  company  of  the  mine,  the  Kimberlev 
Central ;  and  then,  when  the  market  price  of  the  shares 
had  become  considerably  inflated  by  the  competition  be- 
tween agents  of  the  opposing  camps,  Barnato  found  again 
that  some  of  his  most  trusted  supporters,  men  pledged 
to  aid  him  in  opposing  Rhodes  in  the  amalgamation  of 
the  two  mines,  had  considered  the  price  offered  too 
tempting  to  resist,  and  had  betrayed  their  trust  by  selling 
shares  to  the  enemy.  At  that  time,  too,  there  were 
large   interests,  not   only   in   the   Kimberley   mine,  but   in 


TWO   KINGS   OF  DIAMONDS  41 

other  mines  in  the  district,  held  by  other  nationalities, 
prominent  amongst  whom  were  French  financiers;  and  it 
became  evident  that  there  was  a  desire  on  the  part  of  some 
to  take  advantage  of  the  conflict,  to  obtain  a  control  that 
should  dominate  both  Rhodes  and  Barnato,  and  possibly 
oppose  South  African  interests  entirely.  J.  X.  Merriman 
had  already  tried  his  'prentice  hand  at  this  work,  so  disloyal 
not  only  to  the  colony  in  whose  Legislature  he  sat,  but  to  the 
Homeland  to  which  his  allegiance  belonged  ;  another  enemy 
might  come,  was  perhaps  already  there,  who  was  neither 
""prentice  nor  financial  charlatan.  A  conference  of  the  leaders 
was  called.  All  one  morning,  afternoon,  evening,  and  night, 
Khodes,  Alfred  Beit,  AVoolf  Joel,  and  Barnato  sat  discussing 
the  terms  on  which  the  fight  was  to  be  ended ;  and  peace 
with  amalgamation,  and  a  united  front  against  all  enemies, 
secured.  At  last,  at  four  in  the  morning,  a  compromise  was 
arrived  at.  Barnato  demanded  that  the  great  amalgamated 
company  should  be  under  the  control  of  life  governors,  of 
whom  he  should  himself  be  one,  to  guard  against  the  adop- 
tion of  any  unwise  policy  under  the  powers  he  distrusted. 
This  was  agreed  to,  and  then,  addressing  Rhodes,  he  said  : 

"  Some  people  have  a  fancy  for  one  thing,  some  for  another. 
You  want  the  means  to  go  North,  if  possible,  and  I  suppose 
we  must  give  it  to  you."" 

Rhodes  at  once  became  a  larg:e  holder  in  Kimberlev  mine 
shares,  and  Barnato  acquired  further  large  interests  in 
De  Beers ;  and  after  these  pledges  of  peace  had  been 
exchanged,  it  only  remained  to  complete  the  details  of 
amalgamation. 

At  the  eighth  annual  meeting  of  the  "  De  Beere  Diamond 
Mining  Company,  Limited"  (De  Beers  Consolidated  Mines 
had  not  then  been  established),  held  at  Kimberley  on 
May  12,  1888,  Rhodes  was  in  the  chair;  and  Barnato,  for 
the  first  time  present  as  a  principal  shareholder,  moved  the 
vote  of  thanks  to  the  chairman  and  directors  for  past  services 
in  the  foUowins:  terms  : 


42  B.   I.   BARNATO 

"  Before  the  meeting  breaks  up  I  should  like  to  say  a  few 
words  concerning  the  chairman  and  the  directors  and  their 
past  services.  I  am  not  very  bright  in  eulogising  any  one, 
perhaps  criticism  is  more  in  my  line ;  but,  after  the  various 
i-emarks,  and  the  cutting  notes  received  from  various  journals 
in  England  as  to  the  position  of  our  industry,  it  behoves  us 
to  pass  an  extra  vote  of  confidence  in  the  directors,  and  of 
thanks  to  Mr.  Rhodes  for  services  rendered  to  the  De  Beers 

Mining   Company No   person    knows    better    than 

myself  the  labour  that  Mr.  Rhodes  has  had  to  convert  me  to 
the  De  Beers  Mining  Company.  I  may  say  that  day  after 
day  and  night  after  night  Mr,  Rhodes  has  been  working  to 
get  me  to  take  De  Beers  shares  for  Centrals.  I  gave  way 
when  I  saw  diamonds  down  to  18s.  a  carat,  for  I  then  saw 
no  alternative  but  to  consolidate  the  interests  of  the  com- 
panies, and  on  those  terms  I  came  in.  Another  condition  I 
made  a  s'me  qua  non.  I  have  devoted  a  lifetime  to  furthering 
the  interests  of  the  diamond  mining  industry  ;  and  with  the 
interests  I  hold  in  these  mines,  amounting  now  to  nearly  two 
millions  of  money,  I  should  be  a  fool  indeed  to  allow  my 
interests  to  drift  into  the  hands  of  any  particular  body  of 
men.  One  never  knows  what  may  happen,  especially  what 
may  happen  here  in  Kimberley  ;  and  if  this  property  should 
get  into  the  hands  of  a  London  or  any  other  syndicate,  they 
might  knock  it  about  as  they  liked.     Therefore  I  determined 

to  protect  my  own  interests  by  acting  as  a  life  governor 

It  has,  moreover,  been  arranged  that  the  life  governors  shall 
keep  an  interest  of  not  less  than  a  million  of  money  in  the 
company If  ever  there  was  a  safeguard  in  any  com- 
pany, the  holdings  of  the  life  governors  are  a  guarantee  to 
the  shareholdei*s  that  their  property  will  be  carefully  and 
judiciously  managed.'*'' 

The  proposal  to  create  life  governors  was  subjected  to  very 
keen  criticism,  wholly  on  the  ground  of  the  possibly  large 
remuneration  they  would  receive,  although  it  was  expressly 
stipulated    by  Barnato   that  the   life  governors  should  not 


TWO   KINGS   OF  DIA:M0NDS  43 

receive  anything  until  the  ordinary  shareholders  had  been 
paid  a  dividend  of  30  per  cent.  Ultimately  his  proposal 
was  so  far  modified  as  regards  remuneration  that  the  life 
governors  were  to  receive  nothing  until  the  shareholders  had 
been  paid  36  per  cent,  dividends ;  but  he  earned  the  principle 
for  which  he  contended. 

It  was  characteristic  of  Kimberley,  as  then  constituted, 
that  no  sooner  had  Barnato  been  induced  by  defections  from 
his  own  camp  to  make  terms,  than  he  was  violently  assailed 
by  a  certain  small  section  of  the  shareholders  for,  as  they 
termed  it,  betraying  their  interests.  It  was  a  small  thing 
then,  merely  a  question  of  the  terms  on  which  the  dissentients 
were  to  be  bought  out ;  and  when  this  had  been  settled 
finally  to  every  one''s  satisfaction,  and  the  amalgamation  of 
all  interests  had  been  completed  in  every  detail,  it  was 
forgotten  that  there  had  ever  been  a  difference.  I  revive  the 
story  now  solely  because  the  events  of  the  years  that  have 
since  passed  have  thrown  Bamato''s  chief  ground  of  objection 
into  relief;  and  the  action  incidentally  elicited  an  expression  of 
opinion  from  the  highest  legal  authority  of  the  Cape  Colonv, 
which  showed  that  the  wide  powers  of  the  De  Beers  Con- 
solidated Mines  were  thoroughly  understood  there,  although 
no  one  in  England  cared  or  troubled  about  them. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  Kimberley  Central  Diamond 
Mining  Company,  Woolf  Joel  being  in  the  chair,  and  Barnato 
also  present,  called  to  confirm  the  scheme  for  amalgamation 
with  De  Beers,  a  very  small  minority  of  the  shareholders 
objected.  The  objection  was  oven'uled  by  the  chairman  on 
the  ground  that  more  than  three-quarters  of  the  shareholders 
were  in  favour  of  the  amalgamation,  and  under  the  trust  deed 
of  the  company  a  majority  of  not  less  than  three-quarters  of 
the  total  voting  power  of  the  company  had  power  to  carry 
through  an  amalgamation  with  any  similar  company.  There 
was  no  pretence  of  any  high  considerations  of  principle  about 
the  opposition  of  the  minority.  They  objected  to  the 
amalgamation  terms,  as  they  had  a  perfect  right  to  object, 


44  B.   I.   BARNATO 

because  they  thought  they  were  not  getting  enough  for  their 
vahiable  property.  They  next  decided  to  contest  the  ruling 
of  the  chair,  and  they  sought  an  interdict  against  the 
amalgamation,  on  the  gi-ound  that  the  De  Beers  Consolidated 
Mines  was  not  a  "  similar ""  company,  owing  to  the  wide  terms 
of  its  trust  deed. 

The  case  came  before  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  Cape 
Colony  on  Monday,  August  20, 1888,  when  it  was  contended 
for  the  amalgamation  that  the  De  Beers  Consolidated  Mines 
was  a  similar  company  to  the  Central,  inasmuch  as  the 
primary  object  of  both  companies  was  diamond  mining.  In 
the  course  of  the  case  J.  Rose  Innes,  counsel  for  the  dis- 
sentient shareholders,  was  reading  from  the  De  Beei-s  trust 
deed  the  objects  of  the  company  in  support  of  his  argument 
that  it  was  not  a  similar  company  to  the  Central,  when  I\Ir. 
Justice  Smith  said  :  "  It  would  be  far  shorter  to  tell  us  what 
the  company  may  not  do." 

Mr.  Innes:  "They  can  do  anything  and  everything,  my 
lord.  I  suppose,  since  the  time  of  the  East  India  Comjmny, 
no  company  has  had  such  power  as  this.  They  are  not 
confined  to  Africa,  and  they  are  even  authorised  to  take 
steps  for  the  good  government  of  any  territory ;  so  that,  if 
they  obtain  a  Charter  in  accordance  with  their  trust  deed 
from  the  Secretary  of  State,  they  would  be  empowered  to 
annex  a  portion  of  teiTitory  in  Central  Africa,  raise  and 
maintain  a  standing  army,  and  undertake  warlike  operations. 
Yet  it  is  said  that  this  company  is  formed  for  the  same 
pui-jjoses  as  the  Central  Company,  which  digs  for  diamonds 
in  the  Kimberley  mine."' 

The  Chief  Justice,  in  delivering  judgment,  said :  "  The 
applicants  in  this  case  seek  to  prevent  the  carrying  out  of 
certain  resolutions  arrived  at  by  a  majority  of  the  share- 
holders of  the  Central  Diamond  Mining  Company,  at  a  special 
meeting,  convened  for  the  purpose  on  August  7,  1888,  with 
reference  to  the  amalgamation  of  that  company  with  the 
De  Beers  Consolidated  Mines."     Having  read  the  resolution, 


TWO   KINGS   OF  DIA^VIONDS  45 

his  lordship,  continuing,  said  :  "  The  applicants  are  share- 
holders in  the  Central  Company,  and  they  now  seek  to 
interdict  the  carrying  out  of  the  agreement  of  amalgamation, 
on  the  ground  that  such  agreement  is  ultra  vires  of  the 
powei*s  of  the  company ;  and  the  question  to  be  decided  by 
the  Court  is,  what  construction  is  to  be  put  upon  the  83rd 
article  of  association  of  the  Kimberley  Central  Diamond 
Alining  Company.  That  article  provides  that  '  a  full  board 
of  directors  may  at  any  time,  upon  such  terms  as  they  shall 
see  fit,  provisionally  entertain  proposals  to  amalgamate  the 
company  with  any  other  company,  or  partnership  of  persons 
established  for  the  same  or  similar  purposes ;  and  the 
directors  may  make  proposals  for  that  purpose  provisionally, 
and  such  proposals  shall,  when  definitely  aiTanged,  be  sub- 
mitted to  a  special  general  meeting,  to  be  convened  for  that 
purpose;  and  such  special  general  meeting  shall  have  the 
power  to  take  into  consideration  any  such  proposals,  and  to 
conclude  any  final  agreement  or  arrangement  for  such 
transfer,  amalgamation,  sale,  or  alienation,  and  to  authorise 
the  directors  to  carry  the  same  into  effect.'"''  The  lengthy 
remainder  of  the  clause  was  to  the  effect  that  dissentient 
shareholders  could  demand  to  be  paid  out  the  full  value 
of  their  shares,  as  decided  by  an  arbitrator.  The  Chief 
Justice,  continuing,  said :  "  Now  the  Attorney-General  has 
argued  that  the  question  as  to  the  same  or  similar  objects 
of  the  two  companies  is  of  no  importance,  inasmuch  as  any 
shareholder  who  considers  himself  prejudiced  by  the  amalga- 
mation has  simply  to  raise  his  objections,  in  order  to  be  paid 
out  at  the  rate  at  which  his  shares  are  valued  ;  but  in  my 
opinion,  as  I  have  already  pointed  out,  it  is  a  matter  of  the 
gi-eatest  importance  to  the  shareholders  that  the  amalgama- 
tion shall  be  with  a  company  established  for  the  same,  or 
similar  pui-poses.  Because,  if  it  is  competent  for  the  Central 
Company  to  amalgamate  with  any  company,  whatever  its 
objects,  and  whatever  its  financial  position,  shareholders 
might  be  seriously  prejudiced.     The  value  of  the  shares  must 


46  B.   I.   BARNATO 

necessarily  be  affected  by  the  public  credit  of  the  company 
with  which  it  is  jiroposed  to  amalgamate.  It  is  not  alleged 
in  the  present  case  that  the  De  Beei^s  Consolidated  Mines  is 
not  a  company  with  the  very  best  credit  in  the  world ;  but 
the  Court  has  not  to  look  to  one  single  case,  but  rather 
to  give  a  construction  to  this  83rd  section,  which  will 
be  applicable  to  other  cases  of  a  like  character.  It  is  quite 
clear  that  the  shareholdei*s  would  be  grievously  prejudiced 
by  amalgamation  with  any  company  in  bad  credit,  and 
that  the  value  of  their  shares  would  be  seriously  affected 
thei'eby.  The  81st  section  of  the  articles  of  associa- 
tion provides  that,  '  It  shall  be  lawful  for  the  share- 
holders, at  any  time,  to  put  an  end  to,  and  to  dissolve  the 
said  company  by  resolution  passed  at  a  special  general 
meeting  convened  for  that  purpose,  provided  that  at  such 
meeting  such  resolution  shall  be  agreed  to  by  three-fourths 
of  the  votes  of  the  entire  number  of  registered  shareholders.' 
It  is  not,  however,  contended  that  the  dissolution  in  the 
present  case  was  to  take  place  under  the  81st  section  at  all. 
If  it  had  to  take  place  under  that  section,  every  shareholder 
would  have  security  that  at  all  events  he  would  receive  such 
value  for  his  shares  as  would  be  ascertained  by  a  public  sale 
of  the  assets  of  the  company.  But  no  such  security  exists 
where  only  amalgamation  is  proposed.  In  my  opinion,  it  is 
(juite  clear  that  the  Central  Company  had  no  right,  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  wishes  of  any  shareholder,  to  amalgamate  with  a 
company  that  was  not  established  for  the  same  or  similar 
purposes  as  the  Central  Company.  The  question  to  be  now 
determined  is,  whether  the  De  Beers  Consolidated  Mines  is 
such  a  similar  company  or  not.  I  have  looked  into  the  trust 
deed  of  the  De  Beei-s  Consolidated  Mines,  and  I  am  satisfied 
that  it  is  not  a  comjjany  for  the  same  or  similar  purposes  as 
the  Central.  It  is  quite  true  that  one  of  the  purposes  for 
which  the  De  Beei*s  Company  was  established  is  diamond 
mining,  but  that  forms  an  insignificant  poi-tion  of  the  powei-s 
which  may  be  exercised  by  the  company.     The  company  can 


TWO   KINGS   OF  DIAMONDS  47 

undertake  financial  arrangements  for  foreign  Governments, 
and  may  carry  on  diamond  mining,  coal  mining,  or  gold 
mining  in  any  part  of  the  world.  It  can  cany  on  banking  in 
Africa  or  elsewhere,  and  can  become  a  water  company  in  this 
colony  or  elsewhere.  In  point  of  fact,  it  is  of  public  note 
that  an  Act  has  been  passed  this  session  empowering  the  De 
Beei^s  Company  to  also  perform  the  duties  of  a  water  company. 
The  powers  of  the  company  are  as  extensive  as  those  of  any 
company  that  has  ever  existed.  The  question  now  is  whether 
any  shareholder  can  be  bound  against  his  will  to  become  a 
partner  in  such  a  company.  The  terms  of  the  agreement  are 
that  shares  in  the  De  Beers  Consolidated  Mines  are  to  be 
given  for  shares  in  the  Central  Company ;  but  if  the  public 
has  no  confidence  in  a  company  with  such  large  powers  the 
value  of  the  Central  shares  will  depreciate  in  the  market. 
Under  all  these  circumstances,  I  think  that,  however  high  the 
reputation  of  the  De  Beers  Consolidated  Mines  may  be,  if  a 
dissentient  shareholder  believes  that  the  aiTangement  will  be 
to  his  prejudice,  he  is  entitled  to  come  to  the  Cornet  for  an 
interdict  to  prevent  this  amalgamation  from  being  caiTied 
out.  At  the  same  time,  this  is  a  matter  of  vast  importance 
to  all  concerned,  and  it  is  not  usual  to  grant  a  perpetual 
interdict  upon  motion  supported  by  affidavit.  An  opportunity 
must  be  given  to  the  other  parties  to  give  evidence,  if 
necessary,  before  a  perpetual  interdict  is  granted.  The  Court 
will  now  only  grant  an  interdict  as  prayed  for,  but  will  order 
the  applicants  to  bring  their  action  during  next  term  to  have 
the  interdict  made  perpetual.  At  the  present  time  there  is 
sufficient  prima  Jacie  ground  to  j  ustify  the  Court  in  granting 
the  application  with  costs."" 

As  I  have  stated  above,  the  only  point  of  interest  in  this 
law  case  of  nine  years  ago  is  that  the  dissentient  shareholders 
based  their  objection  to  the  amalgamation  on  the  very 
ground  that  Bamato  had  done,  viz.,  that  all  these  extra 
powers  were  foreign  to  the  business  of  the  company;  and 
they   gained   the   day,   preventing   the   amalgamation   from 


48  B.   I.    BAllNATO 

being  accomplished  as  at  first  intended  and  aiTanged.  It  was 
ultimately  carried  through  by  placing  the  Central  Company 
in  liquidation,  when  the  De  Beers  bought  all  its  property 
and  assets. 

The  Lantern  commemorated  the  great  amalgamation  by 
the  cartoon  reproduced  on  the  ojjposite  page,  Rhodes  and 
Bamato  furnishing  the  heads  for  the  Kimberley  Janus,  at  the 
door  of  the  temple  of  the  mining  industry. 

The  cartoon,  with  two  others  in  this  memoir  from  the  same 
source,  bears  the  signature  of  W.  H.  Schroder,  a  journalist 
who  for  many  years  illustrated  the  progress  of  South  African 
affairs,  and  whose  sudden  death  two  years  ago  was  a  loss  to 
South  Africa.  The  Lantern  itself  ceased  to  be  published  in, 
I  think,  1889,  and  its  proprietor  and  editor  died  soon  after- 
wards. 


FROM  THE  LANTERN,   CAPETOWN 


CHAPTER  IV 

TWO   KINGS   OF   DIAMONDS— (co«i/«««0 

Amalgamation   practically  completed — Barnato's  great  speech — 
The  Financial  News  in  testimony — A  "  master  of  finance  " 

Ix  the  preceding  chapter  the  amalgamation  of  the  Kimberley 
Diamond  Mining  Companies  and  the  causes  that  led  up  to  it, 
so  far  as  Barnato  Mas  concerned,  have  been  very  fully  dealt 
with.  The  time  for  the  first  annual  meeting  of  the  new 
great  company  duly  arrived,  and  the  address  to  be  then 
delivered  on  the  report  of  the  first  year's  working  was 
anxiously  awaited,  not  only  by  shareholders  both  in  South 
Africa  and  England,  but  by  the  financial  world.  In  the 
unexpected  absence  of  C.  J.  Rhodes,  who  had  gone  to 
England,  Barnato  was  called  upon  to  preside,  and  it  was 
undoubtedly  one  of  the  great  occasions  of  his  life.  Yet  he 
stayed  out  his  first  session  of  Parliament  to  the  end,  and  then, 
after  a  few  days  at  Sea  Point,  Capetown''s  seaside  suburb,  he 
came  up  to  Kimberley  for  the  meeting,  with  only  two  days 
for  the  study  of  the  voluminous  reports  and  statements  of 
accounts,  and  for  preparation.  But  at  the  meeting  he  was 
quite  ready,  and  to  a  critical  gathering,  many,  of  whom  were 
.still  a  little  sore  at  the  success  of  the  amalgamation,  he 
delivered  the  following  address,  speaking  easily  to  the  end 
without  effort  and  almost  without  notes  : — 

"  There  is  not  much  for  me  to  expatiate  on,  because  the 
reports  which  you  have  just  heard  read  give  you  a  clear  and 
explicit  account  of  the  past  year's  working  of  the  Company. 


52  B.   I.   BARNATO 

But  still  I  think  it  will  be  necessary  for  me  briefly  to  refer 
to  the  past  history,  the  present  condition  and  the  future 
prospects  of  the  Company,  in  order  that  you  may  be  made 
acquainted  with  all  that  has  been  done,  with  what  we  are 
doing,  and   with  what  we  propose  to  do.     In  moving  the 
adoption  of  this  report  I  am  proud  to  say  that  I  am  placed 
in  a  somewhat  similar  position  to  the  Treasurer-General  of 
the  Colony,  who,  in  placing  his  annual  budget  before  Parlia- 
ment  a  few  weeks  ago,  had   the   extreme   gratification   of 
announcing  a  grand  surplus  of  =£'406,000.     Having  a  larger 
amount  than  that  in  the  shape  of  a  profit,  I  feel  that  my 
task  in  presiding  over  you  to-day  is  an  easy  one.     Our  profit 
on    the   past  year  amounts  to  d£'448,000,  and  it  must  be 
satisfactory  to  the  shareholders  to  learn  that  the  whole  of 
this  very  large  sum,  with  the  exception  of  about  <£*85,000, 
was  made  out  of  the  De  Beers  mine  alone.     I    regret  very 
much   the    absence    of    Mr.    Rhodes,    who    is    unavoidably 
delayed  in  England  on  business  connected  Avith  the  Com- 
pany, and  as  this  report  was  only  placed  in   my  hands  a 
couple  of  days  ago  owing  to  my  having  been  in  Capetown 
until  quite  recently,  if  I  am  not  able  to  deal  with  it  in  the 
manner  it  deserves,  that  must  be  my  reason   for  claiming 
your   indulgence.     As   you    will   remember,   the    De   Beei-s 
Consolidated  Mines,  Limited,  was  established  on  March  13, 
1888,    the    nominal    capital    then    being    ^£^100,000,    with 
power  to  inci'ease  it.     We  then  brought  forward  a  scheme 
to  amalgamate  with   the  De  Beers  Mining  Company,  and 
proceedings   were   forthwith   instituted    which  were   can-ied 
into    eff'ect    at    the    meeting    held    on    March    31,    1888. 
Arrangements    were    then    made     for     raising     debentures 
amounting  to  two  and  a  quarter  millions,  the  purpose  to 
which  this  sum  was  to  be  devoted  being  the  purchase  of 
various  properties  and  the  liquidation  of   debts.     Previous 
to  the  raising  of  this  loan  I  think  the  De  Beers  mine  had  a 
debt  of  something  like  half  a  million,  and  a  further  debt  was 
contracted  by  the  purchase  of  the  French  Company.     I  want 
you  to  bear  in  mind  that  this  debt  did  not  accumulate  as 


TWO   KINGS  OF  ^DIAMONDS  53 

the  result  of  the  working  of  the  Company,  but  because  of 
the  purchase  of  other  properties,  which  purchases  were  con- 
sidered necessary  in  the  best  interests  of  shareholders,  and 
which  could  not  be  made  without  increasing  our  capital. 
We  then,  as  many  of  you  know,  purchased  for  a  portion  of 
the  debt  incun'ed  a  very  large  portion  of  Central  shares  in 
the  Kimberley  mine.  The  object  of  that,  as  you  are  aware, 
Avas  to  obtain  a  predominant  influence  over  that  property,  as 
there  was  a  difficulty  in  bringing  about  a  unification  of 
interests.  On  August  7  a  resolution  was  passed  at  the 
meeting  of  the  Kimberley  Central  Company,  to  amalgamate 
the  two  mines.  The  resolution  was  passed  by  an  over- 
whelming majority,  but  there  were  legal  difficulties  which 
threw  a  cei-tain  gloom  over  our  interests  at  the  time,  and 
from  which  it  has  taken  us  some  time  to  recover.  But  I  am 
not  going  to  refer  at  any  great  length  to  those  difficulties, 
except  to  say  that  I  think  the  dissentients  are  more  than 
satisfied.  In  consequence  of  the  judgment  of  the  Supreme 
Coiu-t,  it  was  necessary  to  liquidate  the  Kimberley  Central 
Company,  and  on  January  29,  1889,  a  resolution  was 
carried,  placing  the  Company  in  liquidation.  There  was,  I 
believe,  at  that  meeting  a  majority  of  shares  held  by  the 
De  Beers  Consolidated,  representing  ^£^1 ,660,930,  in  shares 
at  par  value,  and  the  total  capital  of  the  Central  Company 
was  riPl  ,779,650,  thus  showing  there  was  only  a  very  small 
minority,  and  I  am  proud  to  say  to-day  that  we  have 
satisfied  that  minority,  and  we  are  now  in  possession  of  the 
whole  of  the  Kimberley  mine.  In  the  course  of  liquidation, 
the  Kimberley  mine  had  to  be  tendered  for,  and  as  the 
De  Beers  was  the  highest  tender,  it  was  accepted,  and  we 
have  the  entire  control  of  the  Kimberley  mine,  the  cost  of 
that  mine  to  us  being  about  dP5,300,000,  For  the  purchase 
of  those  shares  and  other  interests  we  borrowed  the 
2^  millions  of  money.  In  addition  to  that  we  own  a 
paramount  interest  in  the  Griqualand  West  Company,  and 
since  Mr.  Rhodes  has  been  in  England  he  has  obtained  a 
predominant   interest  in  the  Anglo- African   Company ;    we 


54  B.   I.   BARNATO 

have  a  lease  of  the  Bultfontein  Consolidated,  we  have  pur- 
chased the  South  Afi-ican  Company  for  i?120,000.  Then  we 
have  acquired  Krauss  Bros.'  property  for  <£'36,500,  and  I  am 
})roud  to  say  that  negotiations  are  going  on  to-day  with  the 
Bultfontein  Mining  Company  to  settle  the  purchase  price  of 
that  property  by  arbitration.  I  can  therefore  safely  predict 
that  within  a  very  short  space  of  time  the  whole  of  Bultfon- 
tein mine  will  belong  to  the  De  Beers  Consolidated  Mines, 
Limited. 

"  Now,  as  far  as  Dutoitspan  mine  is  concerned,  we  have  got 
half  that  mine,  in  the  shape  of  the  Griqualand  West  pro- 
perty. The  acquisition  of  the  Anglo-African  is  a  pure 
matter  of  time,  which  Nature  will  place  in  our  hands,  as  soon 
as  those  gigantic  and  inevitable  falls  of  reef  take  place,  which 
will  force  them  to  accept  our  terms.  It  will  be  a  matter  of 
imjx)ssibility  for  them  to  pay,  but  to  this  part  of  the  subject 
I  shall  refer  later  on.  Now,  gentlemen,  having  told  you 
something  of  the  past  history  of  the  Company,  I  think  you 
will  see  that,  everything  considered,  our  existence,  though 
very  short  up  to  the  present,  cannot  fail  to  be  highly  satis- 
factory to  the  shareholders.  Briefly  summed  up,  we  own 
the  De  Beers  and  Kimberley  mines  and  the  predominating 
interests  in  the  Bultfontein  and  Dutoitspan  mines.  Now, 
gentlemen,  with  your  jjermission  I  will  refer  to  the  various 
items  in  the  report  and  balance-sheet,  which  shows  a  profit  of 
:s£'448,905  14s.  6d.  In  dealing  with  the  balance-sheet  it 
must  be  remembered  that  there  are  certain  items  included  in 
it  which  are  not  likely  to  occur  again.  In  the  first  instance 
there  is  ^6006  13s.  7d.,  the  cost  of  the  Oriental  air  shaft, 
which  has  been  written  off;  then  there  is  another  item  of 
£5161  19s.  3d.  for  the  escape  shaft,  and  <^T009  2s.  9d. 
for  the  construction  of  mechanical  haulage  and  bridges. 
There  is  also  another  item  on  commission  account  amomiting 
to  =£9861  10s.  2d.  Another  item  is  that  for  raising  the 
debenture  loan.  That  might  have  been  j)ut  on  the  deben- 
tures, but  we  preferred  to  show  it  as  it  stands,  the  amount 
being  .£'121,390  10s.,  as  well  as  1^3000  for  the  transfer  of 


TWO  KINGS   OF  DIAMONDS  55 

the  French  Company''s  claims,  and  ^3172  14s.  lid.  for  the 
transfer  of  the  De  Beers  Company ^s  property  to  the  De 
Beers  Consohdated  Mines.  Then  there  is  ^^'3411  15s.  7d. 
for  stamps,  and  the  item  of  ^£'5865  8s.  9d.  expenses  incurred 
in  getting  the  De  Beers  Water  Supply  Bill  passed,  which  has 
resulted  in  a  considerable  profit  to  the  Company.  Lastly, 
there  is  <£1 3,032  caused  by  the  liquidation  of  the  De  Beers 
Mining  Company,  and  the  total  of  these  items  amounts  to 
=£'175,915  15s,  All  these  items  have  been  considered  as 
expenditure,  but  they  were  mostly  incidental  to  the  amalga- 
mation, and  it  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  say  that  we  shall  not 
incur  similar  liabilities  in  the  future.  There  will  be  no 
liquidation  expenses,  no  transfers  to  pass,  no  Water  Bill,  and 
no  French  Company,  and  I  think,  under  all  the  circum- 
stances, considering  that  we  have  paid  all  these  liabilities, 
and  have  worked  the  De  Beers  mine  alone,  that  it  is  highly 
gratifying  to  find  that  we  have  made  a  handsome  profit  of 
nearly  d^450,000.  I  should  not  omit  to  mention  that  under 
charges  there  is  an  item  of  i?20,042  7s.  4d.  interest  and 
discount,  and  there  is  a  further  item  for  shafts  burnt 
^£^11,753  15s.  8d.,  and  ^6940  19s.  for  expenses  in  connec- 
tion with  the  fire,  and  about  dP10,000  which  was  contributed 
towards  the  Relief  Fund,  all  of  which  are  duly  set  forth  in 
the  financial  report.  And  here,  gentlemen,  let  me  briefly 
refer  to  that  terrible  catastrophe,  by  which  so  many  poor 
fellows  lost  their  lives,  and  which  I  am  sure  we  all  remember 
with  the  deepest  regret.  I  feel  I  must  pay  a  tribute  of 
respect  to  the  brave  men  who  worked  and  risked  their  lives 
on  behalf  of  those  poor  fellows  who  perished  in  the  disaster. 
I  remember  on  that  melancholy  occasion,  an  occasion  which 
will  never  be  effaced  from  my  memory  and  from  the 
memories  of  many  who  lived  in  Kimberley  at  the  time — I 
remember  seeing  our  respected  and  able  manager,  Mr. 
Gardner  Williams,  a  gentleman  to  whom  no  person  can 
attach  the  least  blame,  working  night  and  day  doing  all  he 
possibly  could  for  the  relief  of  the  entombed  men  and  using 
his  utmost  endeavoui-s  to  quench  the  fire.     That  calamity 


56  B.   I.   BARNATO 

was  ail  act  of  God,  or  at  least  we  must  conclude  so,  for  the 
very  day  of  the  lamentable  occurrence  there  was  an  accident 
in  No.  2  shaft,  which  blocked  it  up  to  some  extent,  and  the 
Gem  escape  shaft  gave  way  only  a  week  previously.  I  there- 
fore think  that  calamity  was  an  act  of  God,  and  I  hope  a 
similar  disaster  will  never  again  be  witnessed  in  Kimberley. 
I  wish,  I  say,  to  pay  a  tribute  of  respect  and  admiration, 
not  only  to  Mr.  AVilliams,  who  worked  all  night,  but  to  the 
brave  men  who  went  down  the  mine  to  save  their  fellow- 
workmen.  On  that  dreadful  night,  when  the  shaft  was 
burning,  these  men  courageously  risked  their  lives,  with  the 
full  knowledge  that  millions  and  millions  of  loads  of  reef 
were  hanging  over  them ;  but  they  were  bravely  determined 
to  open  up  a  shaft  so  that  their  fellow  workmen  might 
escape  from  the  Gem.  We  all  remember  the  result  of  those 
laboui's  ;  we  do  not  forget  that,  as  the  outcome  of  such  noble 
efforts,  out  of  700  poor  souls  buried  500  escaped.  I  have 
therefore  no  doubt  that  all  the  shareholders  will  join  heartily 
with  me  in  making  this  acknowledgment  of  the  splendid 
services  rendered  by  Mr.  Williams  and  the  workmen  serving 
under  him  on  that  melancholy  and  memorable  occasion. 

I  have  made  reference  to  these  particulars,  not  in  order  to 
speak  of  the  financial  loss,  but  to  allude  in  all  sympathy  to 
the  deplorable  loss  of  life.  So  much  for  that  part  of  the 
question.  You  remember,  gentlemen,  the  state  the  mine 
was  in  after  that  calamity,  and  that  a  considerable  expendi- 
ture of  money  was  necessitated  thereby.  It  took  us  some- 
thing like  three  months  to  get  into  proper  working  order. 
Although  the  loss  is  only  put  down  at  .£'30,000,  it  must  be 
remembered  that  we  lost  the  produce  of  the  three  months' 
work,  something  like  a  quarter  of  a  million  sterling.  Now, 
gentlemen,  I  desire  to  call  your  attention  to  another  item ; 
at  the  end  of  this  financial  year  the  stock  of  blue  ground  on 
De  Beers  floors  was  476,400  loads,  being  an  increase  during 
the  year,  in  spite  of  all  the  troubles  we  had  to  face,  of 
173,000  loads  of  blue.  Since  March  30  we  have 
increased  our  stock  by  130,000  loads,  and  I  may  say  it  is 


TWO   KINGS   OF  DIAMONDS  57 

increasing  daily,  so  that  we  have  606,400  loads  of  blue  on 
the  De  Beers  floors  alone,  which  cannot  be  otherwise  than 
satisfactory  to  the  shareholders.  We  have  a  further  stock 
of  blue  on  the  Kimberley  floors,  as  we  have  now  taken  over 
that  mine,  of  180,000  loads,  which  is  also  daily  increasing, 
making  a  toral  of  786,000  loads  on  the  floors  of  Kimberley 
and  De  Beers  Mines,  representing  in  value,  after  deducting 
washing  expenses,  &c.,  no  less  a  sum  than  dC'l ,375,000,  while 
in  addition  we  have,  I  believe,  nearly  100,000  lumps  at  the 
estimated  value  of  .£'35,000.  I  think,  gentlemen,  taking 
these  facts  into  consideration,  and  remembering  all  the 
difficulties  we  have  had  to  encounter  during  the  past  year, 
our  future  is  a  very  bright  and  pleasant  one  indeed.  I  may 
further  call  your  attention  to  a  statement  made  by  our 
manager  in  his  report,  respecting  the  importance  of  accumu- 
lating blue  on  the  floors.  Of  course  you  know  that  by 
allowing  the  blue  to  remain  on  the  floors  for  some  time  it 
becomes  pulverised  by  a  natural  process.  There  is  thus  a 
gi'eat  saving  in  labour,  and  a  saving  in  diamonds  also,  as 
the  Kafirs  have  not  an  opportunity  of  going  over  the  ground 
and  handling  it.  It  is  therefore  the  object  of  the  Directors 
to  have  as  much  blue  accunmlated  on  the  floors  as  possible, 
and  I  believe  that  within  a  year  we  shall  have  a  million  and 
a  half  or  two  million  loads  laid  out  on  the  floors  belonging 
to  the  two  mines.  Taking  the  price  of  diamonds  to  be  25s., 
although  at  present  it  is  30s.  per  carat,  that  quantity  at  one 
and  a  third  carat  to  the  load  will  give  us  nearly  four  millions 
of  money,  which  will  furnish  us  with  a  substantial  sinking- 
fund.  There  is  a  sum  I  have  not  yet  referred  to,  and  that  is 
in  regard  to  the  Kimberley  Mine.  We  have  only  received 
.£85,435  on  our  investment  in  that  mine,  because  the  Central 
Company  was  paying  off"  its  ]VIining  Board  debt  and  other 
liabilities  out  of  the  money  which  otherwise  would  have  come 
to  the  De  Beers  Consolidated,  who  held  sixteen-seventeenths 
of  the  shares,  but  this  is  not  likely  to  occur  again.  We  have 
paid  oft*  the  Kimberley  ]Mine  debt  to  the  Mining  Board 
amounting  to  £^77,000,  and  after  meeting  all  these  liabilities 


58  B.   I.   BARNATO 

we  are  in  the  proud  position  of  declaring  a  dividend  of 
10  ])er  cent. 

"  Gentlemen,  having  i-efen-ed  briefly  to  these  items  in  the 
report,  I  may  now  mention  that  we  have  put  down  more 
permanent  shafts.  There  is,  I  should  say  in  passing,  a  sum 
of  <^5,000  left  in  the  hands  of  the  Kimberley  Central 
Company  which  will  accrue  to  the  De  Beers  Consolidated 
Mines,  Limited,  and  another  amount  to  which  I  might 
allude.  The  Directors,  although  we  were  making  very  big 
profits,  have  always  been  mindful  of  economy,  and  they 
thought  that  a  good  amount  might  be  saved  out  of  their 
yearly  water  account.  The  Government  came  to  their 
assistance  and  passed  the  Water  Bill,  which  I  will  show  you 
by  returns  has  effected  a  very  substantial  saving.  We  con- 
sumed in  Kimberley  mine  for  the  Central  Company  during 
the  twelve  months  ended  March  31  last  25,196,800  gallons, 
at  a  cost  of  i?10,646  ITs.  De  Beere  mine  consumed 
32,571,800  gallons,  at  a  cost  of  X'13,311  9s.  5d.  In  the 
two  mines,  roughly  speaking,  we  consumed  57^  million 
gallons  of  water  at  a  cost  of  .£'24,000.  The  saving  on  that 
item,  the  difference  in  the  price  being  one  shilling  as  com- 
pai-ed  with  eightpence  per  100  gallons,  is  a  sum  of  i?8000 
per  annum.  I  think  the  Directoi^s,  seeing  that  the  Govern- 
ment came  to  their  assistance  in  this  matter,  worked  in  the 
best  interests  of  the  shareholders. 

"  Having  thus  dealt  with  the  past  history  of  the  Company, 
I  may  lay  before  you  one  or  two  of  my  opinions  with  respect 
to  the  future,  and  I  hope  when  I  have  finished  you  will  not 
consider  me  too  sanguine.  As  I  have  said,  when  Ave 
borrowed  this  money  a  gloom  prevailed  so  far  as  the  share 
market  was  concerned,  and  right  over  the  entire  trade. 
For  a  certain  time  there  was  a  gi-eat  want  of  confidence. 
Of  coui-se  some  attributed  it  to  Mr.  Rhodes's  speech,  but  I 
think  that  what  he  said  on  that  occasion  was,  if  anything, 
too  truthful.  It  was,  no  doubt,  unpalatable  to  some,  but 
every  word  he  said  on  that  occasion  is  coming  tine  daily. 
What  he  said,  if  I  remember  rightlv,  was,  '  Give  me  two 


TWO  KINGS   OF  DIAMONDS  59 

years.""  He  might  have  made  one  or  two  statements  that 
were  not  very  complimentary  to  the  outside  mines  ;  yet  only 
fifteen  months  have  passed,  and  day  by  day  you  see  that  the 
result  is  furnishing  substantial  proof  of  Mr.  Rhodes's  state- 
ments. I  remember  in  reading  a  report  of  Sir  Henry 
Barkly's  speech  at  the  ninth  annual  meeting  of  the  Anglo- 
African  Company,  that  he  said  the  Dutoitspan  mine  has 
390,000  loads  of  reef.  I  think  he  must  have  made  a  mistake 
of  a  nought  there ;  he  must  have  meant  3,900,000  loads,  for 
that  is  about  the  actual  figure.  He  also  said,  according  to 
a  telegram  sent  by  the  manager,  Mr.  Davis  Allen,  they  were 
in  the  happy  position  of  having  scarcely  any  reef  at  all  in 
the  Anglo-African  Company,  and  that  the  Orion  Company 
had  all  the  reef.  Well,  I  am  not  going  to  thi'ow  any  mud, 
as  some  of  it  invariably  sticks,  but  foreign  shareholders  may 
be  led  away  by  such  announcements  made  by  so  eminent  a 
person  as  Sir  Henry  Barkly.  If  he  were  at  the  foot  or  the 
edge  of  the  mine  he  would  scarcely  be  so  anxious  to  make 
such  a  statement.  It  may  be  said,  '  If  that  is  the  case,  why 
do  you  buy  into  our  mine  ? '  Later  on  I  will  give  you  my 
reason  why  Mr.  Rhodes  bought  in ;  his  object  being  con- 
solidation, and  to  obtain  control  of  the  Diamond  industry. 
As  some  of  you  will  remember,  so  far  back  as  1879,  when 
Sir  Charles  Wan-en  was  Administrator  of  Griqualand  AVest, 
a  report  was  sent  in  to  him  by  Mr.  Kitto,  a  very  eminent 
engineer,  on  the  Kimberley  and  De  Beers  mines.  The 
industry  was  then,  comparatively  speaking,  in  its  infancy, 
and  Mr.  Kitto  in  that  report  said  the  future  generation  need 
not  bother  themselves  about  the  permanency  of  the  De  Beers 
and  Kimberley  mines.  Now,  knowing,  as  Mr.  Rhodes  has 
said  from  time  to  time,  that  we  have  an  unknown  quantity 
of  blue,  I  would  wish  to  call  your  attention  to  Mr.  Gardner 
Williams''s  remarks  in  his  report,  that  he  has  in  sight  in  two 
levels  alone  in  De  Beers  mine  six  million  loads  of  blue.  We 
have  also  in  the  Kimberley  mine  a  similar  amount,  so  that  in 
two  levels  only  we  have  a  total  of  twelve  million  loads  of  blue 
ground.     Now,  gentlemen,  I  won't  go  beyond  these  twelve 


60  B.   I.   BARNATO 

million  loads,  although  we  know  we  can  go  down  as  many 
thousand  as  we  have  gone  down  hundreds  of  feet.  Taking  it 
at  one  and  one-third  carat  per  load,  it  represents  sixteen  million 
carats  of  diamonds,  over  which  we  have  absolute  control. 
There  are  a  few  outside  interests  which  are  scarcely  worth 
consideration.  Yes,  I  say  again,  scarcely  worth  considera- 
tion. Well,  it  is  our  intention  not  to  sell  diamonds  under 
30s.,  and  I  am  proud  to  say  we  have  scarcely  any  diamonds 
on  hand,  and  the  demand  is  increasing  with  the  supply. 
But,  even  taking  the  price  at  25s.,  we  have,  with  these 
sixteen  millions  of  carats,  no  less  than  twenty  millions  of 
money  in  sight.  Therefore,  knowing,  as  Mr.  Rhodes  did, 
that  it  was  absolutely  necessary  to  get  control  of  the  out- 
side mines,  the  only  question  was  whether  he  was  justified  in 
allowing  these  mines  to  stand  at  the  inflated  value  at  which 
they  were  estimated  by  the  side  of  two  such  mines  as  De 
Beers  and  Kimberley  ?  Gentlemen,  we  hold  a  very  large 
interest  in  Dutoitspan  mine,  and  irrespective  of  this  Com- 
pany I  hold  a  very  large  personal  interest,  but  for  all  that  I 
will  give  you  my  candid  opinion  as  to  the  future  of  Dutoit- 
span. There  are  not  many  shareholders  present  in  Dutoit- 
span, and  it  does  not  make  any  difference — all  the  harm''s 
done  now.  I  believe  this,  that  Dutoitspan  mine  to-day  is 
practically  closed,  so  far  as  open  working  is  concerned. 
That  may  be  reckoned  a  bold  assertion.  There  may  be  a 
few  claims  uncovered,  such  as  the  Orion  and  one  or  two 
others. 

"  It  has  been  maintained  that  if  diamonds  remain  at  30s.  a 
carat,  Dutoitspan  and  Bultfontein  mines  can  be  worked  by 
the  underground  system.  Well,  I  think  I  can  clearly  show 
that  they  will  not  be  payable  on  the  underground  system : 
they  will  never  be  able  to  pay.  I  do  not  make  this  state- 
ment for  the  benefit  of  shareholders  here,  because  I  know 
they  are  acquainted  with  the  circumstances  and  the  facts ; 
but  I  make  it  in  order  that  it  can  go  forth  to  the  world,  and 
to  the  foreign  shareholders,  so  that  they  may  know  the  true 
position  and  the  future  prospects  of  Dutoitspan  and  Bult- 


TWO   KINGS   OF  DIAMONDS  61 

fontein  mines.     I  will  give  you  some  figures  to  prove   my 
contention ;  I  will  not  give  you  a  humcane  of  them,  a  few 
will  be  quite  sufficient.     For  instance,  Dutoitspan  averages 
to-day  about   6s.   or  7s.   per  load.     Considering  that  they 
have  worked  for  something  like  seventeen  years  in  the  open, 
and  hardly  one  Company  has  been  able  to  pay  a  dividend,  I 
do  not   see   how  they  will  be  able  to  pay   a  dividend   by 
the    more  expensive   plan  of  working  underground.     I   do 
not    want   to   pick    out    any    individual    company.     There 
may    have   been    one   or   two    small    companies    that   have 
paid   small  dividends ;  the   Griqualand  West,  for   example, 
owing,     as     was     once     before    said,     to     the     marvellous 
financial  ability  of  Mr.    C.    E.    Nind,   managed  to  produce 
a   dividend.     And   I   noticed   from  the  last  annual   report 
the  Anglo- African   Company,  which    has   been  in  existence 
under  the  able  management  of  Sir  Henry  Barkly  for  nine 
years,   paid    3s.    per   share,    which   gives    4d.    a    share    on 
every   ^PIO   for   their  nine    years   of    existence.      Consider- 
ing that  is  all  they  have  done  in  the  o})en,  I  do  not  know 
what  they  will  do  underground.     All  the  other  companies 
are   in    the  same    bad   wav — they    have   all,   more   or   less, 
debentures  on  them.     At  the  same  time,  it  is  well  known 
that  those  mines  have  just  managed  to   keep  their  heads 
above  water,  and  I  should  like  to  know  how  they  are  going 
to  exist,  working  with  the  underground  system.     I  think  I 
can  prove  to    you,  gentlemen,   that  in  order  to   work  the 
underground  system  you  must  have  the  mine  intact.     You 
all  remember  the  trouble  and  friction  that  took  place  when 
the   De  Beers    mine   was    being  worked    by   the   De  Beers 
Compan}-,  the  Victoria,  the  Oriental,  the  Gem,  and  others. 
Why  was  the  underground   system   not  a  success   in  their 
case  ?     Because  one  company  was  working  against  another ; 
that  is  to  say,  if  one  company  was  on  the  500  feet  level  and 
another  on  the  450  feet  level,  the  opposing  companies  could 
go  and  eat  into  each  others  boundary  walls  and  pillars,  to 
such  a  dangerous  extent  that  the  entire  mine  was  in  a  con- 
dition which  threatened  collapse  at  any  moment. 


62  13.   I.   BARNATO 

"That,  practically,  was  the  state  of  affairs  before  the 
mine  was  consolidated.  It  was  the  same  thing  in  Kimberley 
mine ;  there  were  the  Central,  the  French,  and  the  Standard 
shafts — all  these  comjjanies  had  interests  which  were  dia- 
metrically opposed  to  each  other.  What  was  the  result,? 
Each  company  pulled  its  own  way,  the  French  Company's 
shaft  did  not  last,  and  it  was  only  when  the  mine  was  con- 
solidated as  one  holding  that  the  underground  system 
proved  effective  and  profitable.  But  in  Dutoitspan  what  do 
we  find .''  We  have  eight  distinct  companies,  the  pre- 
dominating concern  being  the  De  Beers  Consolidated  Mines, 
Limited.  We  have  also  the  Compagnie  Generale  and  the 
Anglo-African,  besides  others.  All  these  are  different 
interests  and  undertakings,  and  if  we  go  on  working  each 
undertaking  separately,  on  the  undergi'ound  system,  there 
nmst  be  at  least  eight  different  shafts  round  the  Dutoitspan 
mine,  and  eight  outlets,  meaning  sixteen  shafts  round  the 
mine.  There  would  necessarily  be  a  lot  of  friction  between 
the  various  companies.  How  can  they  exist  .'*  This  might 
not  have  been  brought  to  your  notice  before,  but  it  has  been 
patent  and  clear  to  me  for  years  that  the  undergi'ound 
system  in  these  two  mines,  with  the  various  conflicting 
interests,  cannot  be  carried  out  with  success.  Of  course  I 
shall  be  pleased  to  answer  any  question  put  by  a  shareholder 
in  reference  to  this  matter,  so  that  he  may  be  fully 
acquainted  with  the  actual  position  of  affairs.  Even  pro- 
vided there  was  an  attempt  made  by  one  or  two  of  these 
outside  companies  with  whom  we  cannot  agree,  to  work  on 
the  underground  system  themselves,  it  would  be  impractic- 
able for  them  to  go  on.  I  think  the  arrangements  made  by 
Mr.  Rhodes  with  the  Bultfontein  Consolidated  Company  and 
the  temis  offered  to  the  Griqualand  West  Company  are  such 
as  will  secure  to  the  shareholders  better  advantages  than 
they  have  received  before.  Gentlemen,  it  is  not  our  object 
to  harass  or  coerce  these  companies  so  long  as  we  can  aiTange 
with  them  on  fair  and  reasonable  terms.  I  must  admit  I 
was  not  very  anxious,  personally,  to  pay  the  prices  demanded 


TWO   KINGS   OF  DIAMONDS  63 

by  the  outside  companies,  and  to  lose  on  them.  But  Mr. 
Rhodes  wanted  to  carry  out  his  scheme.  His  projects  as 
regards  amalgamation  have  been  a  success  in  the  past,  and  I 
do  not  think  his  ideas  in  the  same  direction  will  be  a  failure 
in  the  future ;  and  I  am  satisfied  that  all  his  plans  have  been 
conceived  and  are  being  earned  out  in  the  interests  of  this 
Company.  Gentlemen,  I  mean,  relative  to  Dutoitspan  and 
Bultfontein,  that,  even  setting  aside  the  difficulties  I  have 
pointed  out  with  reference  to  the  undergi'ound  working,  and 
even  if  diamonds  retain  their  pi'esent  price,  the  blue  ground 
in  them  won"'t  realise  more  than  6s.  or  7s.  per  load.  Con- 
sidering that,  having  the  control  of  the  two  mines  De  Beers 
and  Kimberley,  we  cannot  work  under  10s.,  I  do  not  see  how 
Dutoitspan  mine  is  going  to  pay  on  the  underground  system, 
if  it  only  averages  6s.  or  7s.  I  predict  that  their  existence 
is  very  short.  Mr.  Rhodes  gave  them  two  years ;  at  the  end 
of  that  time  they  may  be  in  a  position  to  raise  more  money 
on  debentures,  but  they  will  never  pay ;  the  money  will  only 
be  squandered,  and  the  only  way  by  which  the  shareholders 
in  them  can  reap  any  benefit  must  be  by  accepting  the  terms 
offered  by  the  De  Beers  Consolidated  Mines.  Of  course,  as 
I  have  already  remarked,  it  may  be  said :  '  Why  do  you  want 
to  buy  them  in ;  they  are  useless  if  they  are  only  fit  to  stew 
in  their  own  gravy,  as  the  term  goes  "^ '  The  answer  to  that  is 
very  plain.  When  Mr.  Rhodes  purchased  an  interest  in 
Dutoitspan  Mine,  he  was  afraid  at  the  time  that  some 
foreign  element  might  come  in  and  amalgamate  the  Dutoit- 
span claims,  and  refloat  in  London.  Dutoitspan  having 
been  a  very  important  producing  factor,  European  investors 
would  very  likely  have  responded  to  the  invitation  to  refloat 
on  an  amalgamating  basis,  and  consequently  we  could  not 
have  had  control  of  the  industry.  Therefore,  if  a  couple  of 
hundred  thousand  pounds  were  sacrificed  to  lease  those  com- 
panies, I  can  prove  that  the  sacrifice  was  a  very  small  one, 
compared  with  the  advantages  we  shall  derive  from  having 
them  under  our  control.  I  am  confident  that,  having 
secured  so  predominant  a  share  in  that  mine,  the  other  com- 


64  B.   I.   BARNATO 

panies  not  yet  in  with  us  will  only  be  too  anxious  to  come 
within  the  fold,  so  that  in  time  to  come  we  may  be  sure  of 
having  sole  possession.  I  may  also  say  that,  in  the  event  of 
our  having  the  absolute  control  of  the  Dutoitspan  Mine — 
which  we  have  now,  more  or  less,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Compagnie  Generale  and  the  Central  Doornfontein — it  is 
not  our  intention  to  close  the  mine;  our  only  object  is  to 
control  the  diamond  industry.  I  am  anxious  to  impress  this 
upon  you,  gentlemen,  that  it  is  not  the  intention  of  the 
amalgamators  to  close  the  mine.  It  is  necessary  that  I 
should  make  this  announcement,  because  it  has  been  said 
from  time  to  time  publicly  that  our  object  is  to  close 
Dutoitspan  Mine.  As  I  said  on  the  platform  during  the 
late  Parliamentary  election,  even  if  it  were  our  wish  to  close 
the  mine,  the  Government  would  not  sanction  it,  as  so  many 
thousands  of  people  are  kept  employed  by  the  industry,  and 
the  licences  due  to  the  London  and  South  African  Explora- 
tion Company  amount  to  so  large  a  sum  that  it  would  not 
pay  to  close  the  mine.  Well,  I  think  I  have  said  enough 
about  Dutoitspan. 

"  The  same  arguments  do  not  quite  apply  to  Bultfontein, 
and  I  will  give  you  the  reason.  There  are  now  practically 
only  two  mining  undertakings  in  that  mine,  the  Bultfontein 
Mining  Company  and  the  Bultfontein  Consolidated,  which 
virtually  belongs  to  the  De  Beers  Consolidated  Mines, 
Limited ;  we  have  it  on  perpetual  lease  and  we  have  made 
arrangements  to  purchase  the  other  property  on  arbitration 
by  reputable  and  experienced  gentlemen  who  will  soon  be  on 
the  spot.  Furthermore,  the  Bultfontein  Mine  yields  a 
different  class  of  diamond,  as  compared  with  Dutoitspan 
stuff*.  Then  again  Dutoitspan  gives  one-sixth  of  a  carat  to 
the  load,  while  Bultfontein  yields  at  the  rate  of  one-third  of  a 
carat.  Under  these  circumstances  Bultfontein  might  just 
manage,  provided  diamonds  retain  their  present  price  of 
30s.  per  carat,  to  go  on  paying  working  expenses,  but  beyond 
that  they  will  jiay  nothing,  in  addition  to  which  they  have 
the  reef  difficulty  continually  hanging  over  them — hundreds 


TWO   KINGS   OF  DIAMONDS  65 

and  thousands  of  loads  threaten  to  cover  up  that  mine,  and 
its  Hfe  is  bound  to  be  of  short  duration. 

"I^t  me,  gentlemen,  now  refer  to  the  diamond  trade.  I 
think  I  have  shown  you  that,  as  far  as  the  stability  of  our 
mines  is  concerned,  the  present  generation  need  have  no  fear  ; 
but  the  industry  naturally  depends  upon  the  diamond  trade, 
and  unless  we  have  a  market  for  the  diamonds  all  the  mines 
in  the  world  would  be  useless.  Until  within  quite  recent 
years  no  official  returns  of  diamond  production  were  kept, 
but  I  may  say  generally  that  from  1873  to  about  1880  the 
production  was  from  a  million  to  a  million  and  a  half  carats. 
I  do  not  believe  that  in  1876  the  diamond  production  was 
two  millions  of  carats.  I  am  uncertain  about  the  production 
for  the  period  prior  to  1876,  but  from  that  year  to  1880  I 
am  pretty  certain  about,  as  I  was  a  very  important  factor  in 
the  diamond  trade  during  that  time.  Comina;  to  1883,  when 
official  returns  began  to  be  kept,  we  find  that  the  quantity 
produced  in  that  year  was  2,319,234  carats,  of  a  valuation  of 
<£^2,359,466,  averaging  20s.  4fd.  per  carat,  so  that  the 
demand  for  diamonds  in  that  year  was  about  two  millions. 
In  1884,  the  production  was  2,264,786  carats,  of  a  valuation 
of  dC2,562,623,  the  average  being  23s.  2fd.  per  carat.  In 
1885  the  diamonds  produced  amounted  to  2,287,261  carats, 
of  the  value  of  ^2,228,678,  the  average  being  19s.  5|d.  per 
carat.  In  1886  the  production  reached  the  figure  of 
3,047,6391  carats,  of  the  value  of  ^3,261,574,  the  average 
being  21s.  6d.  This  was  a  large  increase,  and  I  mention  it  to 
point  out  that, although  the  production  was  largely  augmented, 
the  price  also  rose,  and  the  demand  increased  in  proportion. 
In  1887,  3,646,889  carats  of  diamonds  were  produced,  the 
valuation  being  ii^4,033,582,  and  the  average  price  22s.  l^d. 
In  1888  the  production  was  3,565,780f  carats,  of  the  value 
of  <s£'3,608,217,  the  total  for  the  last  two  years  being 
7,641,799  carats,  and  [the  average  being  about  21s.  6d.  per 
carat.  The  average  for  the  last  two  years  was  within 
=£•200,000  of  four  millions.  These,  gentlemen,  were  the 
prices  diamonds  were  realising  before   the  unification,  these 

£ 


66  B.   I.   BARNATO 

were  the  prices  diamonds  were  fetching  when  there  were  two  or 
three  hundred  different  interests,  when  the  mines  were  in  the 
hands  of  individuals  and  small  companies  that  were  compelled 
to  put  their  diamonds  on  the  market,  and  were  forced  to  sell 
under  circumstances  not  at  all  advantageous ;  because  from 
time  to  time,  as  many  of  you  remember,  these  small  companies 
were  in  debt  to  a  great  extent,  and  the  diamond  buyers- 
natui"ally  took  advantage  of  the  situation  and  bought 
diamonds  as  they  chose.  Just  upon  four  millions  was  the 
production  in  1888,  and  the  price  was  over  20s.  per  carat,  and, 
unless  I  am  mistaken,  that  was  the  year  that  the  fight  was. 
going  on  between  the  Kimberley  and  De  Beers  Mines,  with 
what  result  we  all  know.  Diamonds  were  being  produced 
wholesale  and  thrown  upon  the  market,  and  yet,  after  all 
these  conflicting  interests  had  been  working  against  each 
other,  the  average  for  diamonds  was  some  20s.  per  carat. 
Now,  gentlemen,  I  desire  clearly  to  point  out  the  advantages 
of  unification ;  for  if  we  produced  four  million  carats  in  the 
past,  what  are  we  going  to  do  in  the  future,  when  we  have 
absolute  control  of  the  mines  ?  Since  the  Kimberley  Mine 
has  become  the  property  of  the  De  Beers  Consolidated  Mines, 
what  have  we  done  .'*  Instead  of  producing  an  unlimited 
number  of  carats  we  have  ]5roduced  a  lesser  quantity  and 
received  the  same  amount  of  money  for  them  ;  that  will  allow 
for  the  increase  of  blue  on  our  floors.  You  see  our  diamonds- 
to-day,  since  we  have  had  absolute  control  of  the  De  Beers- 
and  Kimberley  Mines,  have  realised  27s.  6d.  per  carat  from 
April  to  June,  and  this  month  our  diamonds  have  fetched 
30s.  per  carat.  I  may  tell  you  that  it  is  not  the  intention  of 
the  Directoi-s  to  raise  the  price  of  diamonds  beyond  30s.,  as 
we  are  making  now  a  very  handsome  profit  of  about  66  per 
cent,  on  our  working,  if  we  estimate  the  cost  of  production  at 
10s.  per  carat. 

"  Now,  gentlemen,  there  is  another  very  important  factor 
connected  with  this  question  of  amalgamation,  which  relates 
to  what  I  may  term  the  diamond  department.  I  should  not 
now  refer  to  this  were  I  not  perfectly  well   aware  that  a. 


TWO   KINGS   OF  DIAMONDS  6T 

feeling  prevails  in  the  market  that  the  diamond  trade  is  to 
be  carried  to  the  other  side  of  the  water.  Let  me  take 
advantage  of  this  opportunity  to  place  this  statement  before 
the  public  :  that,  as  far  as  I  am  personally  concerned,  I  shall 
do  all  in  my  power  to  retain  the  local  diamond  market,  I 
think  that  it  is  easy  to  prove  that  it  will  be  a  very  great 
advantage  to  our  industry  and  the  Mining  Companies  if  the 
market  is  kept  here,  for  if  the  market  had  been  driven  to  the 
other  side  of  the  water  we  should  not  have  been  able  to  show 
you  the  results  we  have.  My  reasons  for  saying  I  should 
prefer  to  keep  the  local  market  here  are  many.  In  the  first 
place,  although  there  may  not  be  many  buyers  here,  yet  those 
in  the  trade  are  always  prepared  to  spend  from  ^£^5,000  to 
iS'30,000  on  diamonds.  Suppose  there  are  from  fifteen  to 
twenty  buyers,  and  supposing  that  every  week  they  purchase 
^£"50,000  worth  of  diamonds  :  well,  they  have  to  ship  these 
consignments,  and,  irrespective  of  cables  instructing  them  to 
buy  or  withhold  from  buying,  we  have  thus,  what  with  the 
three  weeks'  voyage  home  and  before  account  sales  reach. 
Kimberley,  at  least  i:^300,000  or  i^400,000  continuously  on 
the  water.  Then  again,  if  our  local  buyers  have  large  stocks 
of  diamonds  on  hand,  it  is  their  policy  not  to  see  the  market 
go  down,  and  they  keep  their  diamonds  until  they  receive 
what  they  call  a  quid  pro  quo ;  they  do  not  part  with  them 
unless  they  can  get  a  reasonable  profit.  I  believe  the  local 
trade  has  proved  very  remunerative,  not  only  to  the  buyers 
but  to  this  Company ;  and,  indeed,  unless  we  had  these  local 
diamond  buyers,  I  scarcely  think  the  price  would  be  what  it 
is  at  present.  I  am  against  the  shipping  of  diamonds  direct, 
because,  according  to  my  own  experience,  and  it  must  be  the 
experience  of  all  diamond  buyers,  it  is  not  advantageous. 
If  we  refer  back  to  the  time  when  the  various  companies — 
the  Central,  the  Standard,  and  the  French — shipped  their 
diamonds,  what  was  the  result  ?  I  know  it,  because  I  was  in 
London  at  the  time.  The  Hollanders,  knowing  that  these 
Companies  had  such  large  quantities  of  diamonds  on  hand, 
said  to  each  other,  '  Oh,  we  are  in  no  hurry  to  take  them  ; 


68  «.   I.   BARNATO 

we""!!  wait  to  buy  at  our  own  price/  They  thus  formed  a 
little  ring  amongst  themselves.  There  was  bound  to  be  a 
serious  loss  over  transactions  canned  out  under  such  circum- 
stances when  the  companies  could  not  help  themselves.  But 
to-day  the  conditions  of  the  trade  are  different.  Now  we 
practically  make  our  own  valuations.  We  have  a  certain 
number  of  local  buyers  here.  They  did  not  come  out  here 
to  look  at  each  other  and  do  nothing,  so  that  if  Diamond 
Companies  won''t  sell  at  a  certain  price,  they  have  to  pay  the 
higher  figure,  the  ultimate  result  being  good  for  the  industry 
and  the  trade.  I  am  convinced  that  it  is  to  our  mutual 
advantage  to  have  a  local  diamond  trade  here,  especially 
if  it  be  carried  on  according  to  the  good  old  maxim — 
*  Live  and  let  live.""  The  diamond  trade  without  a  doubt 
is  the  lungs  of  our  existence,  and  I  say  so  speaking  from 
experience  which  extends  over  the  last  seventeen  years, 
during  which  period  I  believe  I  have  bought  as  many 
diamonds  as  any  other  local  diamond  buyer  in  the  trade. 
Now  it  has  been  said  that  the  Company  intend  to 
ship  one-third  of  their  diamonds,  but  that  is  not  the 
case.  All  that  the  Directors  on  the  other  side  of  the 
water  did  was  this :  they  suggested  that,  in  the  event 
of  a  bad  market,  it  would  be  advisable  to  ship  only  one- 
third  rather  than  force  the  market  here.  But  the  Directors 
on  this  side,  after  mature  consideration,  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  it  would  not  be  politic  to  adopt  such  a 
course.  AVhy  ?  Because  they  thought  that,  if  one-third  of 
the  diamonds  were  shipped,  local  buyers  would  not  be  able  to 
compete  with  the  Company,  and  they  would  thus  be  driven 
out  of  the  trade,  as  it  is  not  likely  that  local  men  would 
purchase  diamonds  when  they  knew  that  all  the  time  the 
Company  were  receiving  consignments  at  Home  enabling 
them  to  undersell.  I  do  not  say  this  would  be  done,  but  it 
might  occur.  Consequently  there  is  a  feeling  throughout  the 
■whole  of  the  trade  that  it  would  be  detrimental  to  the 
diamond  market  interest  if  the  Company  made  any  consign- 
ments ;  and  I  can  tell  you  positively,  with  the  approval  and 


TWO   KINGS   OF  DIAMONDS  69 

sanction  of  my  co-Directors,  that  it  is  not  our  intention  to 
ship  diamonds  at  present. 

"  Now,  gentlemen,  I  will  not  detain  you  much  longer,  but  I 
just  want  to  show  you  what  I  think  of  the  future,  and  when  I 
put  this  statement  to  the  world,  I  think  the  shareholders  will 
go  out  with  smiling  faces.  Gentlemen,  last  year,  when  I  met 
you,  I  asked  you  to  confirm  a  loan  of  il^  millions  sterling 
although  the  picture  was  not  very  bright — our  shares  were 
standing  at  =£^13 — and  a  gloom  was  spread  over  the  whole 
diamond  industry,  but  I  said,  '  Wait.'  As  I  have  already  said, 
Mr.  Rhodes  appealed  to  you  in  March  of  last  year  to  give 
him  two  years,  and  I  am  convinced  that,  if  his  hands  had  not 
been  tied — if  pressure  bad  not  beeu  brought  to  bear  upon  him 
by  some  shareholders — every  word  he  uttered  at  that  meeting, 
held  on  March  31  of  last  year,  would  have  been  fulfilled. 
Let  me  refer  you  to  what  I  myself  said  last  year.  I  said  that, 
although  a  dark  cloud  was  hanging  over  us,  and  De  Beers 
shares  were  only  at  =i^l3,  yet  those  who  could  afford  to  wait 
would  see  at  least  40  per  cent.  No  doubt  pressure  was 
brought  to  bear  upon  many  shareholders  by  the  banks,  but  as 
regards  others  who  could  afford  to  wait,  mv  words  are  being 
fulfilled,  for  although  we  only  declare  a  10  per  cent,  dividend 
this  half-year,  we  have  made  more  than  40  per  cent.,  when 
you  bear  in  mind  the  liabilities  we  have  met,  the  expenditure 
we  have  incurred  in  connection  with  amalgamation,  and  the 
enormous  increase  of  blue  ground  on  our  floors.  Taking  all 
these  items  into  consideration,  and  supposing  we  had  not 
required  to  provide  for  them,  we  could  easily  have  declared  a 
dividend  at  the  rate  of  40  per  cent.,  and  almost  entirely  out 
of  the  De  Beers  mine. 

"  Now,  gentlemen,  once  again  as  regards  the  future.  I  do 
not  want  any  of  you  to  go  outside,  and  in  a  fit  of  madness 
buy  up  shares  at  any  cost,  simply  on  the  strength  of  ray 
statements.  At  the  same  time  I  tell  you  what  my  honest 
belief  is  :  unless  some  crisis  occurs,  I  am  positively  convinced 
that  between  this  periofl  and  the  next  two  years  every  holder 
in  De  Beers  will  be  able  to  reckon  his  shares  at  double  their 


70  B.   I.   BARNATO 

pi*esent  price.  When  I  show  you  my  figures  I  think  you  will 
agree  with  me  that  there  is  some  reason  for  my  statement. 
The  capital  of  the  two  mines,  Kimberley  and  De  Beers, 
thi-ee-iiuartei's  of  Dutoitspan  mine,  and  the  whole  of  Bult- 
fontein  mine,  when  we  an-ange  with  the  Bultfontein 
Company,  is  ,^^3,950,000.  You  will  ask  how  is  it  done  when 
you  have  paid  5|  millions  for  the  Kimberley  Central  alone  ? 
I  will  show  you,  gentlemen.  I  do  not  say  it  was  my  brain 
that  did  it,  but  it  was  the  brain  of  a  man  who  is  quite  equal 
to  hold  the  reins  of  office  of  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer 
of  England.  The  debentures  we  have  amount  to  2^  millions, 
which  enabled  us  to  make  certain  important  purchases  of 
mining  property.  We  have  to  pay  on  this  money  borrowed 
,^120,000  per  annum.  Some  financiers  might  have  felt 
justified  in  making  our  capital  to  commence  with  six  millions, 
but  I  think  you  would  sooner  see  the  capital  of  the  company 
at  d£'3,950,000,  at  the  ordinary  rate  of  interest,  5J  per  cent. 
Mr.  Rhodes  went  home  to  England  in  order  to  make  arrange- 
ments for  the  debentures.  I  am  certain  it  would  have  been  a 
very  great  pleasure  to  him  to  have  been  present  at  this 
meeting,  for  he  has  devoted  all  his  energies  to  the  De  Beers 
Consolidated  Mines.  At  the  meeting  last  year  he  said  he 
thought  his  task  was  finished  when  he  had  made  De  Beers 
mine  one,  but  another  task  was  set  before  him :  that  was 
the  purchase  of  Kimberley  mine.  Other  enterprises  soon 
presented  themselves,  and  now,  in  the  short  space  of  fifteen 
months,  you  might  say  we  have  obtained  absolute  control  of 
the  whole  diamond  industry.  I  find  leasing  the  different 
properties  will  cost  us  ,^^^200,000  per  annum,  but  from  this 
item  we  have  to  deduct  a  very  large  sum,  because  the  largest 
portion  of  the  companies  to  be  leased  belong  to  the  De  Beers 
Consolidated  Mines,  and,  therefore,  the  major  portion  of  the 
JBHOOfiOO  will  come  back  to  us.  Now,  gentlemen,  taking  the 
capital  at  ,£^3,900,000,  let  us,  for  argument  sake,  say  we  only 
pull  2|  million  loads  per  annum,  producing  an  average  of  one 
and  one-third  carats  per  load,  that  will  represent  a  total  of 
3,333,000  carats,  at,  say,  25s.  per  carat,  although  the  price 


TWO   KINGS   OF  DIAMONDS  71 

has  been  lately  30s.  At  25s.  per  carat  we  have  a  total 
valuation  of  i?4,200,000,  and  the  demand  is  e(}ual  to  the 
supply.  In  my  humble  opinion,  in  a  few  years  hence,  when 
we  have  absolute  control  of  the  industry,  and  the  world 
knows  we  intend  only  to  supply  according  to  the  demand,  we 
.shall  be  able  to  make  the  price  anything  we  like.  The 
diamond  is  a  luxury  ;  if  you  Avish  to  buy,  it  makes  very 
little  difference  whether  you  pay  £100  or  d£^150;  it  depends 
more  on  the  price  at  which  the  seller  deems  fit  to  sell.  We 
shall  have  the  whole  of  the  trade  in  our  hands,  but  it  is  not 
the  intention  of  the  Company  to  raise  the  price  above  30s. 
Now,  according  to  our  manager's  report,  the  ground  is  being 
worked  at  a  cost  of  9s.  lO^d.  per  load,  but  let  us  say  the  cost 
is  10s.  per  load  ;  and  supposing  we  have  from  one  to  two 
millions  of  blue  on  the  floors,  we  shall  in  the  course  of  time 
be  able  to  v  ork  it  for  8s.  or  7s.  6d.  Still,  working,  say, 
S^  million  loads  of  blue  at  10s.  per  load,  the  extreme  cost, 
means  a  total  of  ^1,250,000,  added  to  which  will  be  interest 
on  loan  and  lease  of  other  properties,  ^£^320,000,  making  in 
all  £1,570,000,  leaving  a  profit  of  .^2,630,000  per  annum  ; 
that  is,  a  net  profit  of  60  per  cent.,  allowing  the  price  of 
diamonds  to  be  only  25s.,  and  the  cost  of  working  10s., 
although  I  do  not  expect  it  will  be  ever  more  than  6s.  or  7s. 
The  shares  would  then  be  worth  about  £10.  Mr.  Rhodes''s 
figures  were  based  on  this  calculation  without  a  doubt,  and 
when  we  have  entire  control  of  the  industry  I  am  convinced 
we  shall  be  able  to  show  profits  such  as  I  have  mentioned. 
AVhen  Mr.  Rhodes  made  his  statement,  it  was  not  necessary  to 
make  these  annoimcements,  because,  had  they  been  made  to  the 
world,  it  is  doubtful  whether  he  would  have  been  successful  in 
his  plan  of  operations.  When  he  made  the  capital  i^3,900,000, 
it  was  a  marvellous  piece  of  financing — although  some  of  the 
papers  in  England  called  it  'Kafir  finance''  and  the  Company 
now  has  only  a  debt  upon  it  of  2j  millions.  This  money,  I 
may  tell  you,  was  raised  in  a  manner  similar  to  the  Cape  loan, 
which  was  obtained  at  5  per  cent.  ;  our  debt  is  spread  over 
fifteen  years  at  5|  per  cent.,  the  loan  having  been  negotiated 


72  B.   I.   BARNATO 

through  the  house  of  Rothschild,  thus  showing  the  confidence 
those  great  financiers  have  in  the  stabiHty  and  permanence  of 
the  diamond  industry.  You  will  remember  that  all  kinds  of 
rumours  were  abroad  as  to  the  probable  capital  of  the 
Company  with  these  new  amalgamations,  but  Mr.  Rhodes 
only  desired  to  keep  the  capital  as  small  as  possible.  Some 
schemers  might  have  come  out  with  a  capital  of  thirty  or  forty 
millions,  and  a  grand  boom  might  have  been  inaugurated,  for 
the  London  public  were  anxious  to  get  diamond  shares ;  so 
that,  had  the  whole  diamond  industry  been  converted  into 
pound  shares,  they  would  have  gone  to  a  premium  at  once. 
But  all  Mr.  Rhodes's  negotiations  were  carried  out  with  the 
object  of  keeping  the  capital  as  low  as  possible,  and  when  he 
contracted  this  debt  I  believe  you  will  think  with  me  that 
•  it  was  a  very  profitable  undertaking  for  the  Company.  The 
capital  of  the  De  Beers  mine  before  its  consolidation  was 
c£*2,009,000.  The  capital  of  the  Central  Company  was. 
.£'1,779,650;  that  is,  after  they  had  bought  the  Prench 
Company.  De  Beers  at  that  time  was  selling  at  i?40,  which 
brought  up  the  capital  to  dP8,036,000.  The  capital,  as  I 
have  said,  of  the  Kimberley  mine,  was  <iPl ,779,650,  and  the 
dClO  shares  of  that  company  were  selling  at  £50  each,  which 
brought  it  up  to  i?8,898,250,  making  the  total  selling  capital 
for  the  two  mines  <£17,934,250.  The  capital  of  the 
Dutoitspan  Mine,  approximately,  was  i?3,500,000,  and  of 
Bultfontein  ,£2,000,000  nominal,  making  in  the  gross  for  the 
four  mines  c£*23,434,250.  Yet  to-day  our  Company  stands 
with  a  nominal  capital  of  i?3,950,000,  and  we  have  almost 
the  entire  and  absolute  control  of  the  industry  in  all  four 
mines  at  an  annual  charge,  as  1  have  shown  you,  of  about 
.iPSSOjOOO  per  annum,  of  which  amount  we  receive  back  a 
large  proportion  on  account  of  our  enormous  interest  in 
Dutoitspan  and  Bultfontein  mines. 

"  Gentlemen,  I  think  you  will  see  the  importance  of  laying 
these  figures  before  you ;  and,  taking  all  the  conditions  and 
circumstances  into  consideration,  I  am  confident  that  in  at 
the  most  two  years'  time  we  will  show  profits  amounting  to 


TWO   KINGS  OF  DIAMONDS  73 

between  50  and  60  per  cent. ;  if  the  demand  for  diamonds 
increases,  it  will  be  more.  There  is  little  more  left  for  me  to 
say  except  to  thank  you  for  your  attendance.  This  being  the 
first  annual  meeting  of  the  De  Beers  Consolidated  Mines,  I 
thought  it  necessary  to  place  before  you  the  future  policy  of 
the  Company,  especially  as  we  have  now  the  absolute  control 
of  our  industry.  I  think  we  can  congratulate  ourselves  on 
the  present  position  and  on  our  prospects.  I  think  also  that 
the  Company  can  congratulate  itself  on  having  men  at  the 
head  of  the  different  departments  well  worthy  to  represent 
and  conduct  such  an  important  industry  as  ours.  AVe  need 
only  refer  first  to  Mr.  Gardner  Williams,  the  general  manager 
of  De  Beers  and  Kimberley  mines.  Not  only  has  he  sho\vn 
himself  an  able,  energetic,  and  efficient  manager,  but  quite 
worthy  also  to  occupy  the  onerous  position  he  fills.  I  may 
also  state  that  he  has  broujiht  in  foreiorn  influence  into  the 
Company,  and  really  I  believe  Mr.  Williams  devotes  the  whole 
of  his  life  to  this  Company,  because  he  has  such  belief  in  it. 
The  underground  manager  of  the  Kimberley  mine,  Mr. 
McHardy,  has  also  worked  very  hard,  as  also  has  Mr.  McLel- 
land,  the  engineer  of  that  mine,  both  of  them  having  spent 
several  yeai*s  in  the  service  of  the  Kimberley  Central  Company. 
Further,  there  are  the  men  who  are  working  under  the 
management,  who  are  more  or  less  deserving  of  the  thanks  of 
the  shareholders  for  the  manner  in  which  they  have  worked 
for  the  best  interests  of  the  Company.  There  is  one  other 
gentleman  whom  I  should  like  to  refer  to,  and  that  is  Mr. 
Lionel  Phillips,  of  the  Bultfontein  Consolidated  Company. 
What  he  has  done  for  the  De  Beers  Consolidated  deserves  our 
thanks.  I  must  also  give  a  tribute  of  praise  to  our  Secretary, 
Mr.  Craven,  who  has  fulfilled  his  arduous  and  exceedingly 
responsible  duties  to  our  satisfaction.  Then  there  is  the 
diamond  department,  and  I  can  only  say  that  the  way  that 
department  is  carried  on  under  the  control  of  Messrs.  R.  E. 
Wallace  and  Bawden  reflects  the  highest  credit  on  these 
gentlemen,  and  I  can  assure  you  the  shareholders  have  no 
cause  for   complaint.     These   two   able  valuators  have  had 


74  B.   I.   BARNATO 

something  like  fifteen  years"*  experience;  they  both  value 
separately ;  their  valuations  are  placed  in  sealed  envelopes, 
which  are  referied  to  the  Directors,  who  have  had  great 
experience  in  the  diamond  trade.  And  when  an  offer  is  made 
for  the  diamonds,  it  is  left  to  them  whether  they  accept  the 
off'er  or  not.  Taking  the  Company  as  a  whole,  I  think  we 
have  the  best  departmental  staff'  in  this  country,  or  even  in 
the  world ;  we  have  also  one  of  the  greatest  industries  the 
world  has  ever  seen  or  is  ever  likely  to  see.  I  will  now  con- 
clude, gentlemen,  by  once  more  thanking  you  for  your 
attendance,  and  moving  the  adoption  of  the  report,  balance- 
sheet  and  profft-and-loss  account." 

This  speech  had  a  great  and  immediate  effect  on  Barnato's 
position  in  the  financial  world.  Hitherto,  in  spite  of  his 
various  companies,  the  position  his  firm  held  in  the  City,  and 
his  most  recent  parliamentary  successes,  recognition  that  he 
was  anything  more  than  an  ordinary  moneyed  man,  who  had 
been  particularly  successful  in  diamond  mining,  had ,  been 
most  tardy.  Henceforth  he  was  admittedly  a  financial  power 
to  be  reckoned  with.  The  Financial  Nezcs,  in  its  issue  of 
August  13,  1889,  marked  the  change  of  opinion  in  a  most 
significant  manner,  and  better  or  more  impartial  evidence 
could  not  be  found.  It  is  only  necessary  to  make  one  quota- 
tion from  a  lengthy  notice  of  the  meeting : 

"  Mr.  B.  I.  Barnato,  the  chairman  on  this  occasion,  is  well 
known  as  the  founder  of  a  firm  of  diamond  merchants  and 
dealei"s  in  stock,  which  has  recently  assumed  importance  on 
account  of  its  immense  wealth.  Although  the  Hon.  Cecil 
Rhodes,  who  is  at  present  conducting  negotiations  on  behalf 
of  these  mines,  has  been  credited  with  being  the  chief  mover 
in  all  that  has  been  done  hitherto  in  the  carrying  out  of  the 
amalgamation,  yet  it  is  well  known  here  that  behind 
Mr.  Rhodes  was  a  greater  power,  who  controlled  his  move- 
ments, and  from  whose  fertile  brain  emanated  most  of  the 
ideas   which  were  finally  adopted  and   carried   out   by  the 


TWO   KINGS   OF  DIAMONDS  75 

founders  of  the  amalgamated  company.  Mr.  Rhodes  has 
hitherto  been  facile  princeps  as  the  expounder  of  the 
pohcy  of  the  Company,  because  of  the  modesty  of  the 
other,  who  preferred  to  remain  in  the  background  in 
deference  to  the  superior  culture  of  his  leader.  But 
the  absence  of  the  chief  gave  Mr.  Barnato  the  oppor- 
tunity, which  was  all  that  was  required,  to  establish  his 
reputation    in    the    eyes    of    the    world    as    a    master    of 

finance These   figures   might   in    the   hands   of   an 

ordinary  man  have  had  no  significance,  but,  handled  as  they 
were  by  Mr.  Barnato,  they  at  once  assumed  an  importance 
and  a  charm  which  only  men  of  grand  imaginations  and 
conceptions  can  give  them." 


CHAPTER  V 

BARNATO   AT   BAY 

The  Kimberley  election,  November  1888  —Why  Barnato  became 
a  candidate — The  bitter  opposition^Rhodes  in  eulogy — Barnato's 
first  election  speech — The  grilling  of  J.  X.  Merriman — Barnato 
refuses  to  buy  press  support. 

This  year  of  1888  was  the  very  busiest  year  out  of  a  life  in 
which  no  one  year  was  even  partially  one  of  leisure.  No 
sooner  was  the  great  and  final  amalgamation  of  the  hitherto 
opposing  interests  of  llhodes  and  Barnato  jjractically  accom- 
plished, than  the  general  election  for  the  Cape  Colony  House 
of  Assembly  had  to  be  dealt  with.  The  town  with  its 
suburbs  had  at  this  time  certainly  a  population  of  over 
60,000,  but  of  these  less  than  4000  were  on  the  register  as 
voters.  Four  members  of  the  House  of  Assembly  were  to  be 
elected,  and  each  voter  had  four  votes  if  he  chose  to  use  them, 
but  only  one  vote  could  be  given  to  one  candidate.  There 
were  prior  to  the  election  operations  only  two  associations 
representing  the  electorate.  One,  the  Miners'  Union,  was  an 
association  of  the  Diamond  Mining  Companies,  which  in 
consequence  of  the  amalgamation  had  resolved  itself  practi- 
cally into  a  representative  of  the  De  Beers  Consolidated 
Mines  alone ;  the  other  was  the  Licensed  Victuallers''  Asso- 
ciation of  the  usual  trade  type.  There  was,  however,  in 
Kimberley  at  that  time,  as  there  is  in  Johannesburg  to-day, 
a  very  strong  feeling  amongst  the  commercial  classes,  that 
the  representatives  of  the  Mining  Industry  were  determined 
not  only  to  control  the  mines  but  the  whole  course  of  trade. 


BARNATO   AT  BAY  77 

and  that  they  would  attempt  this  not  only  by  becoming 
their  own  importers,  but  by  initiating  legislation.  It  had 
been  pointed  out  that  during  the  last  session  of  the  Legis- 
lature, De  Beers  had  secured  the  passing  of  an  Act  virtually 
expropriating  the  Waterworks  Company  in  spite  of  great 
opposition,  and  that  this  policy  would  be  pursued  until 
every  warehouse  and  shop  in  the  town  had  been  closed,  and 
every  employee  of  the  monopolist  Company  had  been  forced 
to  live  in  quarters  rented  from  his  employers.  Then  the 
town  would  be  utterly  ruined  and  only  the  Company  would 
remain  to  draw  all  profits  from  both  mining  and  shop- 
keeping.  This  furnished  good  ground  for  a  very  pretty 
election  fight  in  the  middle  of  November,  but  there  was 
nothing  at  the  middle  of  September  to  show  that  the  contest 
w  ould  demand  any  unusual  energy.  Then  came  an  announce- 
ment that  Barnato  was  to  be  put  forward  as  a  candidate 
from  the  mining  interest.  He  had  been  an  excellent  member 
of  the  Divisional  Council  in  1880,  and  had  demonstrated  his 
ability  for  public  business  as  well  as  for  his  private  affairs  ; 
while  at  a  previous  election,  seven  years  before,  he  had  been 
asked  to  become  a  candidate  and  had  refused.  Six  other 
candidates  were  known  to  be  in  the  field,  but  not  one 
of  them  was  apparently  worth  any  fuss.  Whatever  else 
might  be  charged  against  Barnato,  he  was  not  and  never 
could  be  a  nonentity  ;  his  enemies  in  particular  fully  recog- 
nised that  he  would  be  a  living  and  particularly  active  force 
for  good  or  evil,  according  to  individual  ideas.  Some 
members  of  the  mercantile  community  undoubtedly  believed 
that  he  would  do  harm  to  the  town,  if  elected,  because  his 
great  mining  interests  would  incline  him  to  consider  the 
Mines  alone ;  and  a  few  of  these  agreed  to  form  a  Citizens"' 
Political  Association,  with  the  sole  object  of  opposing  him 
and  securing  the  election  of  a  quartet  which,  Avhoever  else 
it  included,  should  not  include  him.  The  C.  P.  A.  had  not 
been  in  existence  forty-eight  hours  before  it  was  captured 
AS  an  excellent  weapon  by  the  avowed  and  secret  enemies  of 


78  B.  I.  BARNATO 

Bamato,  by  all  whom  in  the  fifteen  yeai*s  of  his  Kimberley 
life  he  had  offended,  crushed,  or  scorned.  He  had  prided 
himself  on  being  a  good  hater,  on  being  hard  to  beat ;  he 
should  now  find,  they  determined,  that  others  had  memories, 
and  he  should  be  driven  from  the  contest  with  ignominy.  The 
C.  P.  A,  secured  the  support  of  one  of  Kimberley's  two  daily 
newspapei-s  and  delivered  its  first  blow,  which  it  hoped  would 
be  also  final  and  crushing,  by  a  leading  article  therein,  under 
date  of  September  27.  The  candidature  of  Barnato  was 
therein  denounced  on  the  grounds  : 

"  That  he  is  not  a  fit  and  proper  person  to  represent  this 
constituency  in  Parliament,  that  his  return  will  be  detri- 
mental to  the  mining  interest  and  to  the  general  interests  of 
the  place,  and  that,  for  the  credit  and  welfare  of  the 
Diamond  Fields,  the  electors  should  exercise  the  franchise 
with  judgment  and  independence,  and  not  be  led  away  by 
talk  about  the  influence  of  wealth  or  identity  of  interest,  for 
wealth  when  divorced  from  honour,  and  identity  of  interest 
when  synonymous  with  a  strict  and  exclusive  regard  for 
mere  personal  and  private  interest,  constitute  no  claim  to 
public  confidence,"  &c. 

With  this,  too,  were  hints  that  there  were  many  skeletons 
in  the  Bamato  closet  which  it  would  not  be  well  to  raise  up, 
and  that  he  would  consult  his  own  interests  best  by  pre- 
cipitately retiring  from  the  contest ;  for  the  people  of  Kim- 
berley knew  him  too  well,  and  would  have  none  of  him.  The 
result  of  this  unscrupulous  attack  and  innuendo  was  exactly 
the  opposite  of  that  hoped  for,  and  yet  it  might  have  been 
confidently  expected  of  the  man  if  those  who  hated  and 
attacked  him  had  ever  comprehended  his  character.  He  had 
been  nominated  by  the  Miners"'  Union  as  a  candidate,  and 
had  been  adopted  by  the  Licensed  Victuallers''  Association,. 
but  he  was  himself  very  strongly  averse  to  entering  the 
Legislature  at  all,  and  thus  drifting  from  business  which  he 
did  understand  to  politics  which  he  confessed  he  did  not.  It 
is  very  possible  that  had  the  character  of  this  opposition  been 


BARNATO   AT  BAY  79 

different  he  would  have  withdrawn  before  the  day  of  election, 
or  directly  another  really  strong  mining  candidate  had  been 
secured ;  but  he  who  knew  everything  that  was  done  and  said, 
almost  everything  that  was  thought  in  Kimberley,  saw  in 
this,  in  the  very  character  of  the  opposition,  the  great  chance 
he  had  been  waiting  for  for  years,  totry  conclusions  once  for 
all  with  his  personal  detractors.  So  long  as  innuendoes  and 
whisperings  had  been  indulged  in  he  had  never  in  all  the 
years  been  able  to  find  a  peg  whereon  to  hang  a  libel  charge. 
Surely  his  enemies,  after  so  auspicious  a  beginning,  would, 
during  the  heat  of  an  election,  commit  some  indiscretion, 
formulate  some  charge,  on  which  he  could  impale  them. 
There  was  no  longer  on  his  part  any  thought  of  withdrawal ; 
he  accepted  the  requisitions,  issued  his  manifesto,  and  rushed 
into  the  fight;  having  first  given  a  definite  pledge  that  he 
would  proceed  in  actions  for  criminal  libel  in  every  case  in 
which  he  was  advised  that  he  had  legal  ground  of  action. 
The  election  was  only  nine  years  ago,  but  the  whole  circum- 
stances of  Kimberley  have  so  changed  in  that  period  that 
Bamato"'s  manifesto  possesses  but  few  points  of  interest  now, 
and  those  will  be  gathered  from  the  speeches  quoted. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  election  at  which  Barnato  was 
concerned  was  called  specially  to  inform  the  employees  of  the 
De  Beers  Mining  Company  of  the  position  of  affairs.  The 
chair  was  taken  by  C.  J.  Rhodes,  and  it  is  the  only  meeting' 
at  which  he  was  present ;  but  on  this  occasion  he  spoke  at 
great  length,  first  of  all  reviewing  the  position  of  the  Company 
and  its  objects,  and  then  introducing  Barnato  as  the  nominee 
of  the  Miners'  Union.     He  said  : 

"  In  reference  to  Mr.  Barnato  there  has  been  a  great  and 
organised  opposition  in  the  camp,  and  I  shall  put  to  you  the 
case  clearly  and  distinctly  from  our  point  of  view  as  Directors 
of  your  Company.  Mr.  Barnato  has  been  accused  of  being - 
devoid  of  honour.  Various  other  terms  have  been  applied  to 
him,  and  he  has  been  subjected  to  intense  and  great  ill- 
feeling.  .  .  .     Our  policy  has  been  to  keep  the  Company  ini 


80  B.   I.   BARNATO 

South  Africa  with  a  Colonial  directorate,  and  the  Directors  are 
unanimous  on  that  point.  Mr.  Barnato  has  supported  me 
earnestly  in  that.  But  people  say,  '  Oh  yes,  you  have  got 
Mr.  Barnato  under  your  thumb  and  make  him  do  just  as  you 
like.""  Now  I  conceal  nothing,  and  I  say  that  the  gentleman 
to  whom  we  refer  owns  no  less  than  one-tenth  of  the 
De  Beers  and  Kimberley  mine,  and  he  is  supporting  me  on 
all  the  points  I  have  mentioned.  But  I  go  a  great  deal 
further,  and  I  hope  you  will  not  disagree  with  the  next  point 
I  am  going  to  make,  and  it  is  the  following:  that  if  he  is 
good  enough  to  be  a  co-director  with  me,  he  is  good  enough 
to  represent  us  in  Parliament,  holding  as  he  does  one-tenth 
of  the  mines/"' 

At  one  of  Barnato"'s  meetings  a  plain  answer  was  given 
to  some  of  the  rumours  industriously  circulated  by  his 
unscrupulous  opponents. 

Mr.  McHardy  said  :  "  Although  I  am  an  old  inhabitant  of 
these  Fields  I  have  never  spoken  at  a  public  meeting  before, 
and  so  you  must  make  allowances  for  me.  I  should  not 
speak  now,  but  a  great  number  of  you  must  have  heard  the 
whisperings  at  street  corners,  and  have  seen  the  winks  and 
nods  which  in  this  place  are  all  that  are  necessary  to  damage 
a  man''s  reputation.  I  have  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
Kimberley  mine  and  of  the  circumstances  under  which 
Barnato  Brothers  became  claim-holders  in  the  mine.  Their 
property  was  so  rich  that  people  whispered  that  Mr.  Barnato 
had  some  means  of  finding  diamonds  that  other  people  had 
not.  It  was  remarked  that  the  ground  yielded  on  an  average 
from  two  to  two  and  a  half  carats  a  ton,  and  it  was  even 
asked  whether  this  was  not  sufficient  to  convict  him.  There 
have  been  other  men,  and  honest  men  too,  whom  I  have 
known,  and  whose  reputations  have  been  blasted  by  such 
tittle-tattle.  Well,  as  you  all  know,  this  property  came 
after  it  had  passed  from  Barnato  Brothers'  hands,  under  my 
own  management,  and  I  worked  it  separately  ;  with  the  result 
that  I  found  it  did  actually  yield  two  to  two  and  a  half 


BARNATO  AT  BAY  81 

carats.  I  hope  that  for  the  future  people  will  be  very  careful 
how  they  come  to  conclusions  on  such  evidence." 

I  need  only  add  that  McHardy  was  a  man  of  such  strict 
integrity  and  high  reputation  that  even  in  Kimberley  there 
was  nothing  to  be  said  against  him.  This  very  plain  state- 
ment laid  that  particular  charge  at  rest  for  ever. 

Barnato's  first  speech  during  the  period  previous  to  the 
election  was  delivered,  as  he  had  before  announced  it  would 
be,  at  a  public  meeting  held  in  the  Kimberley  Town  Hall  on 
the  evening  of  nomination-day,  October  30.  It  needs  neither 
introduction  nor  comment,  and  was,  with  the  omission  of 
some  unimportant  paragraphs,  as  follows : 

"  Gentlemen,  I  ask  you,  whether  you  are  Englishmen, 
Scotsmen,  or  Irishmen,  or  whatever  nationality  vou  belong 
to,  to  give  me  a  fair  hearing.  My  supporters  have  been 
dubbed  the  '  rowdy  element,"'  and  I  ask  you,  who  are  friends 
of  the  opposition,  not  to  take  our  character  away.  Why  I  ask 
you  to  kindly  give  me  a  little  attention,  is  because  I  have 
been  publicly  accused  of  being  afraid  to  speak.  Therefore, 
gentlemen,  I  ask  you  again  to  give  me  a  fair  hearing.  I  am 
here  for  the  first  time  in  my  life  on  a  political  platform,  I 
must  say  it  is  a  new  position  for  me  ;  and  I  therefore  ask 
you  to  listen  to  me  patiently,  and  when  I  have  done,  if  you 
disagree  with  me  I  shall  like  you  just  the  same.  No  doubt 
vou  are  aware  I  was  nominated  to-day.  My  object  in  going 
•down  to  Parliament  is  not  to  satisfy  my  personal  vanity  ; 
neither  am  I  anxious  to  represent  the  Diamond  Fields  on 
general  grounds  of  ambition  ;  I  desire  to  go  down  to  pro- 
tect the  interests  of  Kimberley.  As  many  of  you  are  no 
doubt  aware,  I  was  asked  to  stand  for  Parliament  in  1881, 
when  Mr.  J.  B.  Robinson  stood  ;  but  I  was  a  young  man 
ihen,  and  I  declined  to  accept  the  responsibility.  Now,  what 
•with  the  experience  I  have  gained,  and  with  my  large  interest 
in  the  most  important  industry  in  the  Colony,  I  do  not  think 
I  am  presuming  if  I  take  it  upon  myself  to  come  forward  as 
vour  candidate.     I  may  also  say  that    I    should  not  have 


82  B.   I.    BAKXATO 

stootl  if  I  had  not  seen  that  here  was  a  weakness  of  the^ 
other  candidates.  I  saw  we  were  in  a  difficult  position.  As 
no  doubt  you  are  aware,  there  are  very  many  important 
(juestions  which  are  bound  to  come  before  the  next  session 
of  Parhament,  and  my  only  object  in  going  down  is  to  see 
if  I  can  be  of  some  good  in  the  House  of  Assembly  for  the 
sake  of  Kiml)erley.  You  know,  gentlemen,  that  I  am  largely 
interested  in  these  mines,  and  you  also  know  that  I  was 
instrumental  in  keeping  our  industry  in  the  Colony.  I  main- 
tain that  if  the  control  of  the  diamond  industry  of  South 
Africa  had  been  taken  Home,  and  had  got  into  the  hands  of 
London  directors — what  I  call  the  guinea-pigs  of  finance — 
there  would  have  been  a  panic  such  as  was  never  equalled  in 
the  Colony,  and  what  then  would  have  been  the  position 
of  the  people  of  Kiirtberley  ?  I  surely  need  not  tell  you  that 
my  interest  in  Kimberley  mine  and  in  De  Beers  mine  is  very 
large  indeed,  but  I  am  not  here  to  blow  my  own  trumpet.  I 
was  nominated  by  the  Miners'"  Union,  and  I  would  remind 
you  that  the  Miners''  Union  represents  not  less  than  some- 
thing like  twelve  to  fourteen  millions  of  money.  That  is  the 
capital  represented  by  the  whole  Diamond  Mining  industry  in 
South  Africa.  The  matter  was  also  referred  to  the  onlv 
other  corporate  body  in  the  place,  the  Licensed  Victuallers"' 
Association,  and  they  heartily  supported  my  candidature.  As 
far  back  as  1880  I  was  a  member  of  the  Kimberley  Town 
Council,  and  I  was  instrumental  in  bringing  the  water  into 
Kimberley.  I  was  one  of  your  municipal  representatives  who 
met  Sir  Charles  Warren,  at  that  time  the  Administrator  of 
Griqualand  West,  on  the  subject  of  a  water  supply ;  and  he 
told  us  that  it  was  too  premature  for  us  to  think  of  bringing 
in  a  water  supply  on  our  own  account.  But,  in  spite  of  such 
an  opinion,  and  of  other  criticism  upon  our  attempt  to  confer 
such  a  boon  upon  Kimberley,  I  was  one  of  the  heartiest 
supporters  of  Tom  Lynch  in  his  enterprise  of  providing  an 
abundant  water  supply.  As  far  as  the  Beaconsfiekl  Water  is 
concerned,  I  can  take  it  upon  myself  to  say  that  along  with 


BARNATO  AT   BAY  83 

Mr.  Rhodes  I  bought  that  concession.  We  bought  it  as  a 
private  spec,  but  Mr.  Rhodes  came  to  me  and  said,  '  Don't 
you  think  it  would  be  much  better  to  give  up  the  concession 
for  the  benefit  of  the  general  mining  industry,  letting  the 
townspeople  have  a  share  in  the  advantages  V  I  at  once 
agreed  and  without  one  sixpence  of  profit  I  gave  that  con- 
cession up,  although  I  can  assure  you  I  might  have  made 
<sdOO,000  by  it  after  the  Act  was  passed.  Now  it  has 
been  said  that  the  object  of  my  purchasing  in  the  De  Beers 
Consolidated  Mines  was  to  close  down  the  Dutoitspan 
and  Bultfontein  mines.  I  tell  you  we  had  no  such  object 
in  view.  Our  object  was  to  keep  the  mining  interest  in 
this  country  and  not  allow  the  foreign  element  to  come  in 
and  shut  down  the  mines.  You  may  remember  the  panic 
of  1881,  when  one  company  was  fighting  against  another. 
Then  not  only  the  investors  in  diamond  shares  suffered,  but 
the  workmen  of  the  Fields  ;  the  whole  country  felt  the  evil 
effects  of  that  panic,  and  it  lasted  nearly  three  years.  All 
interests,  both  mining  and  commercial,  were  disjointed  and 
demoralised,  and  diamonds  fell  to  something  like  ten  shillings 
a  carat,  half  the  people  in  the  place  being  more  or  less 
starving.  Our  only  object  in  consolidating  the  mining 
ventures  in  these  Fields  is  not  to  interfere  with  the  just 
rewards  and  rights  of  the  workmen,  but  to  protect  the 
diamond  trade,  so  that  the  precious  stone  which  forms  the 
staple  product  of  this  Colony  shall  not  be  something  which 
can  be  picked  up  in  the  street. 

"  Another  question  I  would  like  to  say  a  word  about  is  the 
compounding  of  natives.  The  compound  system  was  intro- 
duced while  I  was  in  England,  but  I  think  you  will  all  admit 
it  has  been  a  very  jjood  thing;  for  the  moral  and  social  well- 
being  of  Kimberley.  You  need  only  refer  back  a  few  years 
ago,  when  we  used  to  see  natives  walking  about  the  principal 
streets  in  all  stages  of  drunkenness  on  Saturdays  and  Sundays. 
Respectable  people  were  afraid  to  make  their  way  through 
the  thoroughfares  to  church  on  Sundays.     On  the  one  day 


84  B.   I.   BARNATO 

the  streets  were  filled  with  drunken  Kafirs ;  on  the  next 
morning  the  police  court  was  occupied  all  day  with  the  cases 
arising  from  the  lack  of  control  over  them.  But  now,  with 
the  compound  system  generally  adopted,  no  such  disgraceful 
scenes  occur ;  you  can  go  into  any  well-oi"dered  compound 
and  see  how  quietly  the  natives  conduct  themselves  ;  you  can 
move  thi'ough  the  streets  in  safety  and  comfort.  I  ask  you 
to  contrast  present  conditions  with  those  that  prevailed 
before,  and  then  to  say  if  it  was  not  right  of  the  mining 
employers  to  introduce  some  such  system. 

"  I  have  referred  to  the  Miners'"  Union  and  the  Licensed 
Victuallers'  Association,  but  now  there  is  another  Associa- 
tion in  the  field — the  Citizens'  Political  Association.  Well, 
gentlemen,  that  simply  means  the  anti-Barnato  League.  I 
must  confess  I  have  always  thought  a  lot  of  myself,  but  I 
never  did  think,  until  the  work  for  this  election  commenced, 
that  I  was  so  important  as  to  necessitate  the  establishment  of 
an  association  to  keep  me  out  of  Parliament.  I  shall  not 
trouble  to  speak  of  this  association  individually,  because  to 
touch  on  every  member  in  his  own  proper  character  would  be 
\nf'ra  dig.  on  my  part.  This  anti-Barnato  League  have  no 
politics,  they  do  not  cai*e  what  the  electors  do,  or  whom  they 
return,  so  long  as  they  keep  Barnato  out.  Let  me,  however, 
refer  to  an  advertisement  which  you  may  have  seen,  and  which 
says,  '  Electors  of  Kimberley  and  Beaconsfield,  if  you  wish  to 
successfully  oppose  the  election  of  Mr.  B.  I.  Barnato,  then 
vote  for  Messrs.  Lange,  O'Leary,  Cornwall  and  Lynch.'  You 
see  it  is  just  as  I  have  said  ;  they  have  no  politics.  You  can 
put  six  members  into  a  bag,  shake  them  up,  and  take  any 
four  out  as  your  representatives,  only  do  not  let  Barnato  be 
one  of  the  six.  They  don't  care  what  they  do  one  way  or 
another ;  the  cry  is,  '  Keep  Barnato  out.'  I  am  aware  that 
candidates  who  stand  for  Parliament  have  many  and  various 
charges  levelled  against  them,  but  I  make  bold  to  say  that  no 
man  who  was  ever  in  my  position  was  attacked  in  the  gross 
and  unseemly  manner  which  has  been  my  fortune  during  the 


BARNATO   AT  BAY  85 

last  week  or  so.  I  say  it  is  unprecedented  in  the  history  of 
the  Diamond  Fields,  for  they  have  not  attacked  me  as  a 
politician,  they  have  unmercifully  assailed  me  in  my  private 
and  individual  capacity."" 

After  a  cutting  analysis  of  the  position  and  motives  of 
some  of  his  prominent  opponents,  Barnato  continued  : 

"Amongst  many  other  things,  my  character  has  been 
referi'ed  to.  Well,  I  know  that  many  of  you  now  present 
knew  me  in  the  early  days  of  the  Diamond  Fields.  I  came 
out  in  1873  ;  I  was  refen-ed  to  the  other  evening  as  the 
Prodigal  Son,  but  let  that  pass.  In  1876  I  bought  my  first 
claim  in  the  Kimberley  mine  and  paid  a  very  good  price  for 
it.  I  kept  on  digging  till  1881,  when  I  was  the  purchaser  of 
four  claims,  which  I  floated  into  a  company  for  something 
like  £25,000  a  claim,  amounting  with  machinery  to  =£115,000. 
That  was  my  first  attempt  in  life  to  put  myself  in  a  good 
financial  position,  and  that  was  the  Baniato  Company. 
Previous  to  its  being  the  Barnato  Company,  Mr.  Pippin, 
an  old  digger  from  the  river,  came  to  me.  Before  doing  so, 
he  had  gone  to  one  whom  you  all  know  well  as  a  man 
thoroughly  respected  on  the  Diamond  Fields,  Mr.  W.  M. 
Smith,  and  asked  him,  with  a  peculiar  shrug  of  his  shoulders, 
if  he  should  go  and  work  for  Mr.  Barnato.  Mr.  Smith  said  : 
*  I  have  known  Mr.  Barnato  from  the  early  days,  and  if  you 
have  him  for  a  master  you  will  never  regret  it.^  It  was  said 
of  me  the  other  night  that  people  spoke  about  me,  and  were 
jealous  of  me,  because  I  paid  good  salaries.  I  paid  good 
salaries  because  my  men  worked  well  and  deserved  to  be  paid 
well.  Many  of  you  knew  Mr.  Pippin ;  he  was  in  my  service 
for  seven  years,  he  worked  for  me  all  that  time,  he  died  in 
my  service,  and  when  he  died  I  took  his  son  on  in  his  place. 
Well,  I  came  out  from  England  in  1884,  and  I  bought  Mr. 
Stewarfs  ground.  At  that  time  it  was  remarked  that  I 
paid  the  highest  price  for  claims  ever  paid  in  the  Kimberley 
mine.  I  think  myself  I  paid  a  fabulous  price,  but  I  wanted 
those  special  claims,  and  with  that  speculation  alone  I  made 


86  B.   I.   BARNATO 

no  less  than  =P200,000.  Yet  my  opponents  say  that  this 
is  '  Wealth  divorced  from  honour.''  I  need  hardly,  perhaps, 
refer  Imck  to  the  Barnato  Company.  You  all  know  that  all 
kinds  of  hints  and  innuendoes,  and  shoulder-shrugging,  were 
indulged  in ;  but,  as  Mr.  McHardy  has  already  explained, 
when  the  jiroperty  parted  from  me  entirely,  when  it  was 
placed  in  the  hands  of  a  company,  in  the  first  three  months, 
although  the  claims  stood  at  i,^25,000  each,  a  dividend  of 
9  per  cent,  was  paid,  the  next  three  months  the  same 
dividentl,  and  the  next  three  months  the  same ;  which  was 
equal  to  =£^33,000  dividend  out  of  four  claims  in  nine  months 
as  a  company  concern.  Then  the  gi'ound  got  covered  with 
reef,  and  a  heavy  Mining  Board  debt  was  landed  upon  it.  I 
was  a  member  of  the  Board  in  those  days,  and  there  was  no 
underground  working  then,  remember.  Well,  I  pei-sonally 
lent  the  money  to  extricate  the  company  from  its  difficulties, 
although,  had  the  property  been  put  up  to  auction,  as  it  must 
have  been  if  I  had  not  advanced  the  money,  I  could  have 
bought  it  in  at  an  enormous  profit.  Standard  Shares  were  at 
^17,  Kimberley  Central,  with  their  claims  valued  at  ^^^2000 
each,  were  at  i^2o,  and  I  am  convinced  that  I  could  have 
bought  in  the  Barnato  block  with  gi-eat  advantage  to  myself. 
But  what  did  I  do  ?  I  amalgamated  with  the  Standard  and 
brought  the  shares  that  originally  cost  ^50,  after  four  years' 
hard  work,  up  to  dP150.  This  is  what  is  called  '  W^ealth 
divorced  from  honour."' " 

Having  dealt  with  the  Customs  and  Excise  questions  then 
prominent  in  the  Colony,  he  continued  : 

"  There  is  one  thing  I  should  like  to  touch  upon,  because  it 
affects  us  more  keenly  than  any  other  question  of  Colonial 
politics,  and  that  is  the  diamond-tax.  I  should  like  you  to 
follow  me  closely  in  what  I  have  to  say  about  the  threatened 
tax.  I  suppose  many  of  you  read  what  the  Hon.  J.  X. 
Merriman  said  when  the  Beaconsfield  Water  Bill  was  before 
the  House.  He  said  he  would  take  very  good  care  that  the 
next  session  of  Parliament  the  diamond-tax  was  not  hustled 


BARNATO   AT   BAY  87 

out  of  the  House.  Now,  in  asking  you  to  support  my  candi- 
dature, I  want  you  to  remember  this  very  important  question, 
And  I  want  to  remind  you  also  what  the  same  speaker  said 
of  the  copper-tax  in  1884.  When  a  proposal  to  tax  the 
«opper  output  was  brought  forward,  Mr.  Merriman  said  :  '  I 
hope  the  House  will  negative  such  a  proposal  as  taxing 
•copper,  as  it  is  introducing  quite  a  new  feature  into  this 
Colony  on  our  exports.  The  sole  reason  given  for  it  is  that 
the  cop})er  mining  industry  is  in  a  prosperous  condition.  We 
should  rather  encourage  people  to  come  here  to  start  new 
mines,  so  that  the  prosperity  of  the  country  might  be  increased. 
This  is  a  true  colonial  industry,  and  one  that  ought  to  be 
■encouraged.  By  the  suggested  tax  we  should  be  killing  the 
^oose  that  laitl  the  golden  eggs.  The  only  country  that  ever 
tried  to  tax  copjjer  ore  was  Spain,  and  even  short-sighted, 
foolish  Spain  had  to  give  up  such  a  tax,  which  was  found  to 
■crush  all  enterprise  out  of  the  country.  If  the  copper-tax  is 
agreed  to,  it  will  be  a  hint  to  the  capitalist  not  to  come  into 
the  country.  There  can  be  no  advantage  in  damaging  an 
industry  which  has  done  so  much  for  us  in  the  past  and  will 
•do .  so  much  more  in  the  future.  We  should  be  doing  very 
wrong  indeed  to  single  out  any  particular  industry,  company 
or  individual  to  tax  in  this  manner.'  Well,  that  was  what 
Mr.  Merriman,  a  member  for  the  exclusively  copper  mining 
district,  said  with  reference  to  a  copjoer-tax.  I  may  tell  you 
that  the  cop^jer  mining  industry  is  one  of  the  most  flourishing 
industries  in  the  Colony  and  pays  30  per  cent,  in  dividends, 
the  £1  shares  standing  at  no  less  than  i^49.  Yet,  while  so 
opposed  to  a  copper-tax,  Mr.  Men-iman  has  said  that  he  will 
do  his  best  to  crush  our  industry,  that  he  will  '  see  that 
the  diamond-tax  is  not  again  hustled  out  of  the  House.' 
W^hat  a  glorious  instance  of  the  splendid  inconsistency  of 
this  inconsistent  politician !  I  can  only  say  that,  if  I  have  the 
honour  of  going  down  to  Parliament  as  your  representative, 
Mr.  Merriman  will  have  a  very  warm  time  of  it.  I  can  assure 
you  I  shall  not  be  afraid  of  this  pocket  political  gentleman."'" 


88  B.   I.   BARNATO 

[In  dealing  thus  specially  with  J.  X.  Merriman,  Barnato  had 
doubtless  in  memory  an  attack  upon  himself  made  a  few 
weeks  before.  Speaking  at  an  election  meeting  held  at 
AVoodstock  in  su})port  of  J.  Rose  Innes,  Merriman  said : 

*'  Men  are  being  put  forward  for  election  who,  if  returned, 
would  be  a  disgrace  to  any  society  ;  and  it  is  quite  possible 
that  we  may  see  the  spectacle  of  the  dupe  on  the  Breakwater 
and  his  employer  in  Parliament."" 

When  asked  to  be  more  explicit,  he  replied  : 

"  I  am  not  such  a  fool  as  to  render  myself  amenable  to  the 
law  of  libel." 

The  Lantern's  cartoon  of  the  week  following,  reproduced 
on  the  opposite  page,  is  eloquent  of  the  general  public  indig- 
nation at  the  disgraceful  innuendo.  It  was  said  that 
Men'iman  had  formerly  kept,  or  had  been  interested  in  the 
profits  of  a  bottle  store,  that  is,  an  ofF-licensed  liquor  shop. 
He  is  represented  as  having  thrown  a  bottle  of  dirty  water  at 
Barnato  after  he  walked  past  his  store,  but  failed  to  hit. 

Barnato,  turning  :  "  Hi,  you  there,  sir;  was  that  meant  for 
me  'r  " 

MeiTiman  (in  confusion)  :  "  Well — Yes — No — Hem  ! — I 
daren't  say.*" 

Barnato :  "  No,  you  cowardly  scoundrel.  Next  time,  vou 
aim  straight  if  you  dare."] 

"  I  do  not  want  to  go  into  figures,  and  I  need  hardly 
tell  you  that  the  effect  of  this  diamond-tax  on  the  Fields 
would  be  most  ruinous.  I  confess  I  have  taken  a  very 
great  interest  in  this  matter  because  it  touches  my  pocket ; 
but  remember,  please,  that  it  will  touch  yours  also.  It 
would  destroy  the  confidence  of  the  investing  public  if 
once  the  Cape  Government  interfered  with  our  industry  in  such 
a  manner.  During  last  session  a  proposal  was  made  by 
Mr.  Arthur  Douglass,  member  for  Grahamstown,  to  impose  a 
diamond-tax,  and  I  at  once  wired  down  to  the  Attorney- 
General,  Sir  Thomas  Upington.  I  mention  this  to  show  that 
my  opposition  to  the  diamond-tax  is  no  mere  electioneering 


BARXATO   AT   BAY  89 

cry.  I  wired  as  follows :  '  Douglass"'  motion  in  the  present 
demoralised  and  stagnant  state  of  the  diamond  and  share 
market  is  likely,  unless  withdrawn,  to  cause  a  panic  here  and 
at  Home,  and  to  have  such  a  disastrous  effect  on  the  financial 
credit  of  the  Colony  that  it  will  take  years  to  recover."*  That 
telegi-am  was  sent  on  the  31st  May,  and  I  say  I  mention  it  to 
you  in  order  to  show  you  that  my  voice  will  be  heard  in  the 
House  if  I  should  be  returned,  and  if  such  an  iniquitous 
proposal  is  brought  forward  again.  Of  course  all  the  other 
candidates  who  are  supported  by  this  so-called  Citizens'* 
Political  Association  will  tell  you  that  they  also  are  opposed 
to  the  diamond-tax ;  but  remember  this,  that  my  interest  is 
here  in  the  mines,  and  I  think  that  I  shall  be  able  to  exert 
some  influence  not  only  in  the  House  but  outside  of  it  as 
well.  Now  I  need  only  say  that  if  a  diamond-tax  was  intro- 
duced, say  of  only  5  per  cent,  on  a  production  of  four  and 
a  half  millions  a  year,  it  would  represent  a  cost  to  Kimberley 
of  .^215,000.  Not  only  would  this  interfere  with  our 
dividends  but  it  would  interfere  with  the  interests  of  the 
working  men,  because  we  would  have  to  cut  down  expen- 
diture, and  you  wovild  be  the  victims.  I  say  it  is  all  very 
well  to  send  down  men  who  will  say  that  they  will  pro- 
tect the  diamond  industry,  but  what  I  advise  you  earnestly 
to  do  is  to  send  men  to  the  House  who  will  protect  the 
industry  of  the  place  because  it  affects  their  pockets ;  and 
who,  owing  to  their  many  years"*  connection  with  Griqualand 
West,  are  determined  that  no  such  hurtful  impost  shall  be 
imposed  to  the  detriment  of  the  people. 

"  I  do  not  know  whether  you  are  aware  that  the  exports  of 
the  Cape  Colony  are  about  ,^£'9,000,000  sterling  per  annum, 
and  that  Kimberley  in  itself  exports  dP4,500,000  of  this. 
Now  my  opponents  say  I  am  not  a  fit  and  proper  person  to 
represent  you  in  Parliament,  when  I  represent  half  the  exports 
of  the  Colony.  The  diamond  industry  of  this  Colony  is  a 
government  within  a  government ;  and  if  I  am  fit  to  sit  on 
the  Board  of  the  Consolidated  Mines,  holdinuj  one-eio,hth  of 


90  B.   I.   BARNATO 

the  mining  interest  of  Griqualand  West,  along  with  such  men 
as  the  Hon.  Cecil  Rhodes,  and  the  representatives  of  the 
historic  house  of  the  Rothschilds,  surely  I  am  quite  good 
enough  to  go  down  and  represent  this  constituency  of  Kim- 
berley  and  Beaconsfield.  This  is  a  very  important  matter, 
and  while  appealing  to  you  for  support,  I  ask  you — and  let  my 
words  be  remembered — if  I  prove  unworthy  of  your  con- 
fidence, to  call  me  to  the  bitterest  account.  If  you  think, 
that  the  only  qualification  I  have  to  represent  you  is  wealth, 
do  not  send  me  down,  for  I  should  dearly  wish  you  to  believe 
that  I  have  other  qualifications. 

"  I  have  now  to  say  a  word  on  railway  questions,  and  here 
I  can  assure  you  we  have  nothing  to  thank  the  Merriman 
Government  for.  You  will  remember  a  few  years  back  what 
a  difficulty  there  was  in  extending  the  railway  line  from  the 
Orange  River  to  Kimberley.  Now  I  will  tell  you  what  it 
cost  the  })eople  of  this  country.  Money  was  borrowed  at  the 
rate  of  5  per  cent,  to  put  down  the  line  from  Cape  Town 
to  the  Orange  River,  and  the  losings  on  the  whole  of  the 
line  were  at  the  rate  of  2|  per  cent,  on  the  whole  cost. 
We  borrowed  something  like  five  millions.  The  loss  fell 
largely  upon  Kimberley,  Avhich  was  the  milch-cow  of  the 
Colony.  After  waiting  two  years  and  more  in  the  Karoo  at 
the  Orange  River,  the  line  was  extended  to  Kimberley  at  a 
cost  of  i?400,000,  but  we  have  to  thank  the  Sprigg  Ministry 
for  the  extension.  As  soon  as  the  line  was  extended,  we 
here  paid,  and  have  since  paid,  not  only  the  interest  on  the 
capital  of  the  whole  line,  but  a  balance  to  credit  besides. 
Now  what  did  the  Merriman  Ministry  do  ?  They  borrowed 
something  like  d£?4,000,000  of  money.  I  was  in  London  at 
the  time,  so  I  know  something  about  it.  The  money  was 
borrowed  at  the  rate  of  5  per  cent.,  and  the  loan  was  issued  at 
98.  The  4  per  cent,  stocks  were  then  standing  in  the 
London  market  at  100| — that  is,  slightly  at  a  premium — and 
yet  they  went  to  the  market  and  borrowed  the  money  at  5 
per  cent.  !     It  was  a  scandalous  thing,  and  it  meant  a  loss  to 


BARNATO   AT  BAY  91 

the  Colony  of  i!^80,000.  Gentlemen  in  London  said  they 
Avould  never  invest  a  penny  in  the  Cape  Colony,  because  these 
amateur  financiers  were  ruining  credit.  It  cost  to  borrow 
£4,000,000  at  5  per  cent.,  issuing  at  98,  ^80,000.  The 
5  per  cents,  have  now  been  converted  into  4  per  cents.,  but  we 
had  to  give  ,£115  for  the  i?98;  and  now  4  per  cent,  stock 
is  at  ddOT,  making  the  price  of  conversion  to  the  Colony 
£122.  So  you  see  it  costs  something  like  £40,000  a  year 
through  sending  men  Home  who  are  not  good  financiers.  The 
whole  thing  ought  to  have  been  done  at  4  per  cent.,  and  it 
was  done  at  5  per  cent.  I  am  speaking  facts,  although  I 
have  to  say  I  made  a  profit  of  £30,000  out  of  it.  I  heard 
that  Sir  Thomas  Scanlen  and  Mr.  MeiTiman  were  in  London 
to  bring  out  a  5  per  cent.  loan.  I  went  and  beared  the  4  per 
cents.,  and  stock  that  was  at  100|  went  down  £6  to  94.  I 
took  the  opportunity  to  bear  that  stock.  That  is  called, 
*  Wealth  divoiced  from  honour.''  At  the  present  time  Cape 
Colony  credit  stands  at  3^,  and  the  cause  of  this  is  the  ex- 
tension of  the  railway  to  Kimberley.  I  believe  in  a  policy  of 
extension,  and  I  regret  very  much  that  the  Government  have 
not  seen  their  way  clear  to  an  innnediate  extension  in  the 
direction  of  Vryburg,  Mafeking,  and  Thoshung,  because  I 
believe  the  future  of  the  Cape  Colony  lies  greatly  in 
Bechuanaland  and  Matabeleland."*' 

The  speech  concluded  with  a  promise  to  support  the 
adoption  of  the  Ballot  for  the  whole  country,  but  that  he 
would  oppose  any  partial  application  of  it,  and  he  conferred 
upon  J.  X.  Merriman  the  title  of  "The  Solomon  Eagle  of 
Mowbray.""  As  Barnato  said,  he  had  been  taunted  with 
being  afraid  to  speak  and  to  face  a  Kimberley  audience,  but 
he  had  himself  planned  out  his  election  campaign  and  deter- 
mined that  the  proper  time  for  his  first  public  meeting  and 
speech  was  on  the  evening  of  nomination-day.  From  this 
determination  no  abuse,  no  activity  on  the  part  of  other  candi- 
dates, no  entreaties  of  his  own  friends  even,  availed  to  move 
him.     At  his  own  appointed  time  and  place  he  spoke.     The 


m  B.   I.   BARNATO 

effect  of  the  speech  was  immediately  seen.  That  he  held  the 
attention  of  a  crowded  and  turbulent  audience  to  the  end, 
that  a  unanimous  vote  of  confidence  was  passed,  and  that 
he  was  chaired  round  the  building,  were  all  evidences  of  the 
effect ;  but  they  were  insignificant  when  compared  with  the 
change  in  public  opinion  as  to  his  chances.  Kimberley  in 
those  days  was  nothing  if  not  a  sporting  town,  and  had  lately 
had  its  Spring  llace  Meeting.  Betting  on  the  result  of  the 
election  was  therefore  to  be  expected,  and  before  the  speech 
Barnato  stood  at  two  to  one  against  for  a  place,  with  no 
supporters  for  a  win.  The  morning  after  the  speech  the 
betting  was  three  to  one  on  Barnato  for  head  of  the  poll,  and 
further  speculation  only  concerned  itself  as  to  the  hundreds 
of  votes  by  which  he  would  surpass  the  second. 

It  was  thoroughly  characteristic  of  Barnato  that  directly 
he  had  definitely  decided  to  become  a  candidate  he  went 
personally  to  the  proprietor  of  the  opposition  newspaper  (it 
was  a  day  or  two  after  the  fii-st  attack  had  appeared)  and 
warned  him  that,  though  the  paper  might  libel  him  with 
impunity  during  the  election,  the  libel  actions  would  surely 
follow.  The  proprietor,  in  reply,  said  he  was  sick  of  the 
whole  thing  and  wished  Barnato  would  buy  the  paper.*  In 
after  years  I  heard  this  incident  adversely  commented  upon 
by  one  who  was  no  friend  to  Barnato,  as  an  act  of  the  grossest 
intimidation;  and  I  asked  Barnato  to  explain  why  he  went  on 
such  an  errand  at  such  a  tinje. 

"  Yes,^  said  Barnato,  "  I  did  go.  I  gave  the  whole  story 
at  the  time  in  one  of  my  election  speeches.  The  paper  had 
previously  been  in  our  pay,  that  is,  in  the  pay  of  the 
Central  Company,  for  commercial  reasons.  We  paid  <£'30  a 
month  and  the  editor  submitted  his  articles  to  us.     When 

*  The  Lantern  seized  this  particular  incident  as  a  fitting  offence  for 
which  to  pillory  the  editor  of  the  Independent  the  following  week.  The 
cartoon,  reproduced  on  the  opposite  page,  represents  the  editor  throwing 
ink-pots  at  Barnato,  none,  however,  hitting  him.  To  them  appears  Diogenes 
with  his  lantern,  who  queries  :  "  Why  do  you  throw  your  ink  at  him  ;  it 
does  not  touch  him  ?  "     Editor,  in  reply  :  "  Because  he  will  not  pay  for  it." 


BARNATO   AT   BAY  93 

the  election  drew  near  all  subsidies  were  discontinued,  and  it 
was  decided  that  if  any  press  support  was  needed  more  than 
was  voluntarily  afforded  a  special  newspaper  should  be  started 
for  this  purpose.  Well,  when  the  paper  attacked  nie  so  bitterly 
I  knew  perfectly  well  who  was  supporting  it  and  had  been 
inspiring  the  comments.  I  knew  that  there  was  opposed  to  me 
a  clique,  wealthier  than  I  was,  who  had  never  forgiven  me  for 
besting  them  time  after  time,  and  that  no  money  would  be 
spared  to  rake  up  everything  they  could  find  to  my  discredit. 
I  made  sure  of  being  able  to  bring  several  libel  actions,  and  I 
wanted  them  to  be  good  ones.  I  did  not  want  to  bring,  one 
or  several  actions  and  then  find  the  defence  fizzle  away  for 
lack  of  evidence.  I  didn't  care  a  scrap  about  punishing  the 
proprietor  or  editor  for  publishing,  but  I  did  want  to  meet 
the  vile  slanders  and  worse  insinuations,  stated  as  plainly  and 
forcibly  as  possible,  in  detail.  So  I  thought  it  over  and  came 
to  this  conclusion  :  That  since  they  would  certainly,  before 
the  election  was  over,  give  me  ground  for  an  action  for  libel,  I 
had  better  warn  them  of  my  determination,  and  then  they 
would  be  careful  nothing  was  published  that  they  could  not, 
according  to  the  information  my  enemies  supplied  to  them,  fully 
justify.  Of  course  it  didn't  quite  work  as  I  hoped ;  I  mean  I 
didn't  manage  to  get  ground  for  any  libel  action  at  all ;  but 
the  warning  probably  saved  the  editor  and  proprietor  in 
■question  from  undergoing  terms  of  imprisonment  for  loose 
writing.  I  would  have  done,  in  fact  I  believe  I  did  do,  every- 
thing short  of  fabricating  evidence  against  myself  to  induce 
my  opponents  and  enemies  to  make  some  charge  against  me ; 
-something  that  they  could  defend,  and  that  I  could  rebut  in 
such  detail  as  would  never  be  forgotten,  but  they  never  could 
rsuborn  sufficient  false  witnesses  to  make  a  show." 


CHAPITJI   VI 

THE   KIMBERLEY   ELECTION 

The  election  contest — No  party  politics  in  the  Cape  Colony— A 
disturbed  meeting — Barnato's  last  election  speech — Reviews  his 
Kimberley  career — A  clean  record — Barnato  heads  the  poll  and 
then  helps  Rhodes — His  maiden  speech  in  Parliament — Press 
criticisms — Fulfilling  election  pledges — The  Kimberley  police 
incident — Barnato  carries  his  first  motion  against  the  Government 

The  first  real  election  speech  Barnato  made  during  the 
campaign  (quoted  in  the  preceding  chapter)  was  delivered, 
according  to  his  own  plan  of  operations,  on  the  evening  of 
October  30,  after  the  formal  nominations  had  been  made  in 
the  morning  and  the  poll  demanded.  The  other  candidates, 
six  in  all,  had  been  holding  meetings,  canvassing  and  speaking 
continually,  but  no  taunt,  no  entreaty  had  drawn  him  from 
the  quiet  work  of  preparation.  For  the  next  fortnight,  until 
the  day  of  election,  November  14,  he  practically  lived  in 
])ublic  ;  and  when  and  how  much  he  managed  to  sleep  are 
still  unsolved  questions.  He  canvassed  the  whole  of  the 
electorate  personally,  he  spoke  at  constant  successions  of 
meetings  all  day  long.  On  set  occasions,  on  the  market 
squares,  at  street  corners,  wherever  men  gathered,  there  was 
Barnato  pressing  his  candidature.  As  many  an  election 
candidate  has  found  to  his  cost,  it  is  one  thing  to  make  a  set 
speech,  and  quite  another  thing  to  come  satisfactorily  out  of 
determined  heckling.  Barnato  proved  that  he  was  not  only 
possessed  of  unexpected  oratorical  powei*s,  but  that  he  had 
the  gi*eat  platform  advantage  of  perfect  self-possession  and 


THE   KIMBERLEY  ELECTION  95 

readiness.  This  enabled  him  to  take  up  interruptions 
and  awkward  questions,  and  at  once  convert  them  to  his 
service.  It  will  already  have  been  clearly  grasped  that  there 
was  in  the  whole  of  the  election  contest  no  question  of  any 
differences  of  politics  as  they  are  understood  in  England. 
There  is  not  even  to  this  day  in  the  Cape  Parliament  any 
definite  line  of  demarcation  between  the  Government  sup- 
porters and  those  who  for  the  time  are  in  opposition ;  and 
although  there  are  some  questions  of  public  interest,  and 
a  few,  very  few  principles,  supporters  and  opponents  of  all 
are  to  be  found  on  both  sides  of  both  Houses.  General 
elections  in  the  Colony  attract,  of  course,  considerable  atten- 
tion, but  each  voting  centre  is  concerned  with  its  own 
candidates  as  a  rule,  and  cares  little  for  the  progress  of  affairs^ 
elsewhere.  Whatever  the  result  of  the  elections  may  be  in 
the  aggregate,  it  is  known  that  the  Ministry  will  remain 
practically  the  same ;  and  politicians,  members  of  defeated 
Ministries,  find  no  difficulty  in  taking  office  Avith  their  former 
opponents.  The  present  premier  of  the  Cape  Colony,  Sir 
Gordon  Sprigg,  is  a  beautiful  and  most  instinctive  example 
of  the  adaptability  of  the  Cape  politician.  The  1888^ 
general  election  was  remarkable  for  the  interest  that  the 
Kimberley  fight  excited ;  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  dorps, 
the  sleepy  hollows,  even  the  farmers  of  the  open  grass  veld, 
the  barren  karoo,  and  the  richly  fertile  kloofs,  began  to  feel 
some  excitement.  Barnato,  his  life,  his  mannei*s,  and  his  chances^ 
of  success,  became  the  subject  of  convei*sation  in  many  an 
isolated  homestead  no  less  than  in  the  few  busy  towns ;  and 
five  years  later,  when  I  myself  rested  for  a  night  in  a  most 
hospitable  but  rudimentary  farmhouse,  in  a  district  remote 
from  railways  or  even  villages,  the  farmer  brought  out  for  my 
reading  a  huge  bundle,  carefully  preserved,  of  newspapers 
of  October  and  November  1888. 

In  addition  to  the  ordinary  means  of  advertisement  and  the 
attention  drawn  to  himself  and  his  doings  by  his  opponents, 
Barnato  determined  that  nothing  should  be  wanting  on  his. 


96  B.   1.   BARNATO 

own  part  in  personal  pomp  and  surroundings  that  could  aid  in 
attracting  notice.  Naturally  one  of  the  simplest  and  most 
unostentatious  of  men,  he  now  dressed  particularly  carefully 
and  neatly  as  a  contrast  to  his  gorgeous  special  equipage, 
consisting  of  a  highly  decorated  barouche  drawn  by  four  hoi*ses 
with  outriders,  postillions  and  footboys  all  in  scarlet  liveries. 
Relays  of  hoi-ses  and  of  servants  too  were  needed  to  keep  up 
with  this  indefatigable  man  during  the  fortnight  of  incessant 
work  and  movement.  Of  course  he  had  a  strong  and  able 
committee  who  were  all  absolutely  devoted  to  him,  and  who 
looked  upon  his  success  or  failure  as  a  personal  matter,  but  it 
is  no  slight  to  them,  no  slur  upon  either  their  exertions  or 
ability,  to  say  that  Barnato  himself  directed,  fought  and  won. 
He  did  not  have  everything  his  own  way.  All  movements 
abroad  were  not  attended  by  cheers  nor  was  every  meeting  a 
jiersonal  triumph.  On  one  occasion  he  had  to  retreat  Avith 
his  trusty  henchmen,  Woolf  Joel,  J.  Lawrence  and  Dr. 
Rutherford  Harris,  through  a  back  window  to  avoid  what 
would  probably  have  been  serious  personal  injuries  at  the 
hands  of  infuriated,  drunken,  and  for  the  moment  successful 
ruffians.  On  another  occasion,  at  a  public  meeting  in  the 
Theatre  Royal,  Beaconsfield,  so  great  was  the  organised 
opposition  that  for  over  an  hour  he  and  his  supporters  on  the 
stage  endeavoured  to  gain  a  hearing.  An  ever  active  and 
athletic  supporter  took  off  his  coat  and,  leaping  from  the 
stage,  personally  assisted  in  ejecting  the  worst  of  the  noisy 
disturbers,  while  Barnato,  faint  from  his  exertions,  gained  five 
minutes'  rest.  Subsequently  a  vote  of  confidence  in  him  was 
understood  to  have  been  jmssed  by  a  large  majority,  and  the 
meeting  dispersed  with  fragments  of  chairs  and  furniture  as 
trophies,  leaving  only  a  wrecked  theatre. 

So  with  varying  fortune  the  candidature  passed  on.  On 
the  whole,  Barnato  was  undoubtedly  well  received,  and  the 
most  unscrupulous  attacks  gained  him  sujjport  instead  of 
inflicting  damage  ;  for  many  who  were  honestly  opposed  to 
him  simply  because  he  was  the  representative  of  the  mining 


THE   KIMBERLEY  ELECTION  97 

industry,  eventually  gave  him  their  vote  from  disgust  at  the 
opposition  tactics.  Of  all  the  speeches,  it  is  only  now  necessary 
to  quote  from  the  very  last  delivered  in  the  Kimberley  Town 
Hall  on  the  Saturday  night,  November  10,  with  the  election 
to  follow  on  the  next  Tuesday.  In  a  report  of  the  speech  in 
a  Kimberley  paper  on  the  Monda}',  one  of  the  headlines  was 
"  His  opponents  on  a  gridiron."  This  exactly  described  the 
fii"st  part  of  the  speech.  He  did  indeed  with  unsparing  hand 
grill  his  opponents,  but  that  has  no  present  interest,  nor  do  I 
intend  to  revive  any  part  of  long-forgotten  sorenesses.  In 
the  second  part  of  the  speech  he  said : 

"  You  have  all  heard  many  statements  to  the  effect  that  I 
am  a  man  of  '  Wealth  divorced  from  honour, ""  meaning  that 
I  am  a  man  who  has  made  my  money  dishonourably  in  this 
place.  I  came  here  fifteen  years  ago  as  a  young  man  of 
twenty.  I  have  struggled  very  hard,  and  I  challenge  any 
man  as  I  stand  on  this  platform  to-night  to  come  forward 
here  and  say  that  I  have  ever  gained  one  shilling  dishonour- 
ably. I,  at  any  rate,  have  a  clean  record  not  only  here  but 
in  England.  I  have  had  no  great  aspirations  to  become 
M.L.A.  I  am  known  well  enough  to  all  as  plain  common 
Barney  Barnato,  without  wishing  to  become  B.  I.  Baniato, 
Esq.,  M.L.A. ;  but  when  I  saw  that  no  one  else,  neither 
Henrichsen,  Lionel  Phillips,  nor  Mylchreest,  could  be  got  to 
stand  as  a  candidate  for  Parliament  in  the  mining  interest ; 
then,  and  only  then,  did  I  accede  to  Mr.  Rhodes's  request  that 
I  should  stand  in  the  mining  interest  for  Kimberley.  I 
wondered  then  what  recommendations  I  had,  and  what  I  could 
do.  I  was  very  loath  to  stand,  and  Avas  .hesitating,  when 
suddenly  there  came  out  in  the  Independent  the  assertion  that 
I  was  afraid  to  stand  and  to  speak  for  fear  of  my  past  life 
being  brought  before  the  public,  and  that  I  was  not  a  fit  and 
proper  person  to  represent  Kimberley  in  Parliament  because 
I  was  'Wealth  divorced  from  honour.''  It  was  then,  and 
then  only,  that  my  pluck  came  back  to  me,  for,  I  was  deter- 
mined to  make  another  attempt  to  find  out,  if  possible,  what 

G 


98  B.   I.   BARNATO 

it  was  that  pei*sons,  any  person,  had  to  say  against  me.  I 
came  forward.  I  have  been  for  two  months  the  target  for 
every  kind  of  abuse.  There  has  been  time  and  opportunity 
for  my  enemies  to  rake  from  their  own  heaps  all  possible 
filth.  I  have  challenged  them  all,  and  I  ask  and  demand  that 
you  shall  tell  me,  if  vou  can,  of  anything  that  has  been  alleged 
against  me  or  whether  the  first  assertions  have  been  justified  ? 
No,  not  one  of  you  can  tell  me  of  anything  that  has  been 
brought  forward  in  the  least  to  my  discredit,  and  I  can  tell 
you  why  my  enemies  have  not  succeeded,  and  that  is  because 
there  is  nothing  in  my  life  that  I  am  ashamed  of.  The  best 
sign  of  proof  as  to  whether  I  am  a  fit  and  proper  person  to 
represent  you,  the  people  of  Kimberley,  and  your  great 
industry,  will  be  shown  on  Tuesday  next,  November  13,  when 
I  will  be  placed  by  you  at  the  head  of  the  poll.  It  has  been 
stated  that  I  have  gained  money  in  this  place  dishonourably. 
I  am  pleased  to  have  the  opportunity  of  putting  myself 
before  you  in  a  proper  light,  for  I  have  nothing  to  be 
ashamed  of,  and  have  done  nothing  that  I  would  not 
willingly  do  over  again.  I  have  gained  my  money  by 
personal  pluck,  sheer  hard  work,  and  honourably  by  faith 
in  myself  and  my  convictions,  and  I  dare  any  one,  now  or 
hereafter,  to  say  and  prove  the  contrary.  As  I  have  said, 
I  set  foot  in  this  place  in  1873;  by  1876  I  was  worth 
i'SOOO.  What  did  I  do  then?  I  bought  a  claim  in 
the  Kimberley  mine  from  Messrs.  Kerr  Brothers.  I  knew 
full  well  that  ground  was  very  rich.  I  kept  on  making 
money,  and  by  some  fortune  or  other — I  might  have  had  a 
providence — I  struck  the  four  richest  claims  in  the  Kimberley 
mine.  I  kept  them  till  1880,  and  from  those  claims  I  made, 
on  an  average,  ^^1800  a  week.  I  then  floated  the  claims  into 
a  company  for  .£'25,000  a  claim  and  i^l 5,000  for  machinery, 
and  the  company  made  a  magnificent  profit,  paying  from 
the  first  9  per  cent,  every  quarter.  During  the  time  of 
depression  I  lent  the  company  dPl 2,000  for  four  years, 
and   saved   the   property   from    liquidation,    when   I  could 


THE   KIMBERLEY  ELECTION  99 

have  bought  in  the  shares  cheaply  and  made  money ;  and 
ultimately,  by  amalgamation  with  the  Standard  Company, 
the  shareholders  were  paid  nearly  double  their  <£*25,000 
a  claim.  There  had  been  all  sorts  of  insinuations  about 
sorting,  but  the  people  who  made  them  were  soon 
silenced  when  they  saw  what  the  property  really  was. 
Yet,  after  all  this,  the  people  Avho  opposed  me  then  come 
now  and  make  serious,  violent,  and  dastardly  innuendoes 
against  me,  not  daring  to  make  any  particular  charge, 
cowardly  as  they  are.  I  wish  there  were  a  few  more  adjectives 
at  ray  command  to  apply  to  these  people.  Mr.  McHardy 
and  others  have  publicly  testified  before  you  that  when  the 
property  came  into  the  hands  of  the  Central  Company  it 
proved  to  be  all  that  Barnato  Brothers  had  claimed  for  it. 

"I  want  to  meet  Merriman  face  to  face  on  this  and 
other  matters.  I  am  quite  aware  that  I  have  not  been  a 
politician  until  now,  and  that  I  am  not  one  yet ;  but  if 
I  give  politics  my  study  with  close  application,  as  I 
intend  doing  henceforth,  although  Mr.  Merriman  has  been 
living  in  the  air  of  politics  for  fifteen  years,  he  will  find  he 
has,  I  hope,  a  fairly  capable  and  worthy  opponent  in  me.  I 
am  no  orator.  I  have  had  very  little  experience  in  public 
speaking,  and  I  have  only  met  the  people  of  Kimberley  on  a 
few  occasions ;  but  when  I  meet  this  man,  who  has  thrown  out 
dastardly  innuendoes  against  me,  I  shall  be  the  first  man  in 
the  House  to  show  him  that  I  do  not  fear  him  at  any  time 
or  in  any  place.  Only  a  few  weeks  back  Mr.  Merriman 
called  the  people  of  Kimberley  '  peripatetic  adventurers  and 
wandering  thieves  ! '  I  could  tell  you  a  good  deal  about  how 
Mr.  Merriman  tried  years  ago  to  consolidate  the  mines  here 
with  a  capital  of  twenty  million  pounds  and  to  transfer  the 
management  to  the  hands  of  foreign  capitalists.  But  I  am 
going  to  keep  the  shot  for  use  at  a  proper  time."" 

The  rest  of  the  speech  was  devoted  to  further  retaliatory 
criticism  of  Merriman  and  others  by  name  who  had  opposed 
him,  and  dealt  with  his  election  pledges  and  local  matters. 


100  B.   I.   BAllNATO 

The  actual  day  of  election  presented  a  scene  of  the  very 
greatest  excitement  in  the  Kimlxjrley  district.  There  were 
some  fifteen  polling-places,  and  at  each  the  result  of  the  open 
voting  was  posted  up  hour  by  hour.  It  was  seen  by  midday 
that  Barnato  would  be  an  easy  first,  and  thereafter  he  devoted 
himself  to  helping  on  some  of  the  other  candidates.  The 
result  of  the  poll  was :  Barnato,  1657 ;  John  Lange,  13T6 ; 
Lynch,  1078 ;  O'Leary,  1034 ;  who  were  declared  duly 
elected,  and  then  fii*st  of  the  unsuccessful  came  W.  Slatterly 
Lord,  Q.C.,  1028.  On  petition  OXeary  was  unseated  and 
Lord  was  put  in  his  place  as  junior  member.  This  last- 
named  gentleman,  an  able  advocate  and  a  most  popular 
man,  unfortunately  only  served  through  the  following  session 
of  the  Parliament,  and  died  universally  regretted  while  on 
a  voyage  to  England.  In  addition  to  the  O'Leary-Lord 
petition,  there  was  only  one  other  outcome  of  the  election  in 
the  Courts — a  libel  action  brought  against  the  Indej)endent  by 
the  chief  of  police — but  that  fell  through. 

As  for  BaiTiato,  electioneering  seemed  to  agree  with  him,  for 
no  sooner  was  his  own  contest  triumphantly  ended  than  he 
proceeded  to  the  adjoining  constituency  of  Barkley  West, 
which  had  before  returned  C.  J.  Rhodes,  who  was  again  a 
candidate;  and  there,  in  a  widely  scattered  electorate,  he 
Avorked  for  a  fortnight  for  his  friend  as  energetically  as  he  had 
ever  worked  for  himself,  and  with  a  completely  satisfactory 
result.  Then  he  turned  again  to  his  own  business  affairs,  and 
went  up  to  the  Witwatersrand  to  look  after  his  rapidly 
growing  interests  in  that  rising  district. 

In  due  course  he  took  his  seat  in  Parliament,  and  after  two 
months'  silence  spent  in  carefully  studying  the  House  of 
Assembly  and  the  members,  with  the  ways  and  customs  of 
what  was  to  him  an  entirely  foreign  environment,  he  caught 
the  Speaker  s  eye  and  made  his  maiden  speech  on  a  motion  by 
Arthur  Douglass,  member  for  Grahamstown,  in  favour  of  the 
Ballot.  His  election  pledges  had  been  to  support  a  general 
Ballot  Act  for  the  whole  country,  but  as  with  the  Capetow  n 


THE   KIMBERLEY  ELECTION  101 

members  and  Capetown, so  he  declined  to  admit  that  his  own 
constituency  called  for  special  treatment.  In  fact  he  had 
stated  it  to  be  his  opinion  that  the  Ballot  was  more  required 
in  the  country  districts,  and  he  would  not  therefore  approve 
of  it  unless  applied  to  the  whole  country,  when  it  would 
have  his  hearty  support.  He  followed  Messrs.  Lewis, 
Weiner,  Pearson  and  Ohlssen  in  the  debate,  his  speech  bein<^ 
as  follows : 

"  Mr.  Speaker,  I  shall  not  occupy  the  time  of  your  Honour- 
able House  at  any  length,  for  I  am  not  desirous  of  seeing 
this  debate  adjourned,  but  I  wish  to  express  myself  as  briefly 
as  possible  on  the  subject,  especially  in  view  of  my  own 
experiences  during  the  last  election.  I  did  intend  at  one 
time  to  vote  for  the  motion  of  the  Hon.  iVlember  for 
Grahamstown,  but  since  I  have  read  the  debates  of  the  last 
session  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  I  can  only  vote 
for  a  general  bill  to  be  applied  throughout  the  Avhole  Colony, 
and  I  think  that  when  I  have  given  my  reasons,  Hon. 
Members  Avill  unanimously  accept  them.  I  speak  from  some 
experience,  for  in  the  last  election  it  was  hinted  throughout 
the  Colony  that  in  Kimberley,  which  was  considered  the  main 
and  an  important  centre — and  I  might  say,  the  most  impor- 
tant centre  in  South  Africa — considerable  and  continual 
coercion  and  intimidation  were  used,  so  far  as  the  mining 
industry  was  concerned.  I  believe  the  Hon.  IVlember  for 
Barkley  West  (C.  J.  llhodes) — who  I  regret  to  observe 
is  not  in  his  seat — debated  the  question  at  great  length 
before  a  full  House,  after  which  it  was  unanimously  agreed 
that  the  Ballot  when  adopted  should  be  of  universal  applica- 
tion. The  Hon.  Member  for  Barkley  AA'^est,  referring  to  the 
mining  industry,  the  paramount  industry  of  the  Cape  Colony, 
has  said  more  than  once  that  there  was  no  coercion,  no 
intimidation  on  the  part  of  employei-s  of  labour ;  and  at  a 
very  impoi'tant  meeting  of  the  De  Beers  Consolidated  Mines, 
the  Hon.  Member  stated  that  every  man  had  the  privilege 
and  the  perfect  right  to  vote  as  he  thought  fit ;  and  that  he 


102  B.   I.   BAllNATO 

was  not  called  to  vote  for  the  mining  or  any  other  candidate, 
unless  he  thought  him  to  be  a  fit  and  proper  person  to 
represent  the  constituency.  In  the  Dutoitspan  mine,  the 
chairman  of  the  Griqualand  AVest  Mining  Company,  repre- 
senting half  the  mine,  made  a  similar  definite  statement. 
Then  there  were  the  various  speakers  and  the  several  candi- 
dates. I  personally  addressed  what  I  think  was  one  of  the 
most  influential  meetings  ever  held  in  South  Africa.  I  was 
very  careful  not  to  commit  myself  on  the  question  of  the 
Ballot  Act,  but  was  pressed,  and  on  being  definitely  asked 
whether  I  was  in  favour  of  a  Ballot  Act  or  no,  I  said  '  Yes,  I 
would  be  in  favour  of  a  Ballot  Act  universally  applied.' 
The  feeling  of  the  people  of  Kimberley  was  in  accordance 
with  this — that  is,  in  favour  of  a  Ballot  Act,  but  only  on 
condition  that  it  was  made  of  universal  application.  I  will 
only  further  refer  to  some  of  the  men  who  were  lately 
membei's  of  this  Honourable  House  for  Kimberley,  who  posed 
as  champions  of  the  people  on  the  question ;  and  who  stated 
that  bribery,  con-uption,  coercion,  and  undue  influence  were 
rampant,  and  must  be  checked.  A^'^hat  Avas  the  result .''  As 
far  as  Kimberley  was  concerned,  those  people  who  posed  as 
champions  were  not  returned.  It  has  been  said  that  in 
several  districts  the  Ballot  would  be  impracticable,  but  I  can 
mention  one  particular  case  which  came  under  my  own 
knowledge  at  Barkley  West,  vhere  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
giving  my  support  to  a  certain  candidate.  I  spoke  in  favour 
of  this  candidate  to  one  or  two  men  who  were  working:  on 
certain  farms,  and  the  answer  was  made  that  they  could  not 
support  him  because,  if  they  did,  they  would  be  subject  to 
dismissal.  I  merely  bring  this  instance  forward  in  support 
of  my  contention  that  the  Ballot  is  more,  much  more,  needed 
in  the  country  than  in  the  town  districts.  I  suppose  that 
Capetown  is  regarded  as  an  im})ortant  centre,  and  Hon. 
Membei's  have  heard  from  the  Hon.  Member  for  Capetown 
that  he  also  M'ill  support  the  adoption  of  the  Ballot  if  it  be 
universally  applied.     On  behalf  of  the  people  of  Kimberlev 


THE   KIMBERLEY   ELECTION  103 

I  say  the  same,  but  I  am  not  prepared  to  see  the  Ballot 
applied  in  some  places  and  not  in  others." 

In  the  result,  after  further  debate,  the  motion  was 
negatived. 

As  the  maiden  effort  of  the  senior  member  for  Kimberley 
the  speech  excited  much  interest,  and  gained  very  favourable 
comment,  poor  and  bald  as  it  seems  now.  The  Cape  Times., 
a  journal  then  strongly  opposed  to  Barnato,  in  a  com- 
mendatory paragraph,  said : 

"The  adjourned  debate  on  the  Ballot  was  simply  like 
flogging  a  dead  horse  or  several  dead  horses.  The  only 
novel  feature  in  the  revival  was  Mr.  Barnato's  maiden  speech, 
delivered  fluently,  and  not  at  all  needing  the  drum  ohligato 
with  which  it  was  accompanied,  to  compel  attention. 
Mr.  Barnato  favours  the  universal  Ballot,  freedom  of  vote 
being  subject,  in  his  opinion,  to  more  interference  in  rural  than 
in  town  constituencies." 

The  Cape  Argus  said  : 

"The  adjourned  debate  on  the  Ballot  gave  Mr.  Barnato 
an  opportunity  to  make  his  maiden  speech.  He  is  against 
the  Ballot  unless  the  Act  extends  over  the  whole  country. 
He  tells  us  that  he  attended  the  most  important  political 
meeting  ever  held  in  the  whole  of  South  Africa.  Mr.  Barnato's 
style  is  thoroughly  ambitious,  but  his  gesticulation  has  a 
taste  of  the  platform  rather  than  the  semi-ecclesiastical 
dulncss  of  the  House,  though  his  enunciation  is  clear  and  his 
words  sensible.''"' 

JEiVc'alibu?-,  a  Capetown  journal,  noM^  long  since  defunct, 
gave  more  space  to  the  eft  or  t : 

"  Mr.  Barnato,  after  two  failures  to  catch  the  Speaker''s  eye, 
made  his  maiden  speech  in  favour  of  a  universal  Ballot  on 
Tuesday  afternoon.  The  manner  and  style  of  the  new  Member 
were  such  as  to  leave  a  very  favourable  impression  on  the  House; 
while  as  to  the  matter  of  the  speech,  he  spoke  in  favour  of  the 
adoption  of  a  vniiversal  Ballot  Bill,  and  showed  his  adherence 
to  the  principle  of  the  Ballot.    His  neat  little  speech,  none  the 


104  B.   I.   BARNATO 

woi-se,  in  my  opinion,  for  being  accentuated  by  an  earnest 
manner,  was  one  of  the  best  surprises  of  the  session.  Most 
people  were  on  the  watch  for  the  millionaire's  debut,  and 
probably  most  people  were  inclined  to  be  critical  as  well  as  to 
unden-ate  his  chances  of  success  as  an  orator.  It  suits  the 
whim  of  the  great  majority  to  believe  that  a  man  who  has 
been  so  signally  favoured  by  fortune  owes  everything  to  his 
good  luck.  Mr.  Barnato,  however,  proved  that  he  has  not 
been  neglectful  of  his  opportunities,  and  even  his  turn  for 
amateur  acting — a  form  of  amusement  which  he  particularly 
affects — has  stood  him  in  good  stead ;  the  proof  of  which  was 
given  on  Tuesday  in  the  self-possession  of  the  speaker,  his 
clear  enunciation  and  practised  vocal  organ.  All  this  pleased 
and  surprised  the  House,  which  smiled  encouragement  upon 
the  new  Member  so  courageously  preening  his  wings  for  future 
flights  in  the  political  empyrean."" 

On  the  same  day  that  Barnato  made  his  first  speech  he 
seized  an  opportunity  that  occurred  to  fulfil  one  of  his 
election  pledges,  which  also  excited  very  favourable  comment. 
He  had  promised  that  the  underpaid  and  much  overworked 
police  force  of  the  Kimberley  district  should  receive  his  aid 
towards  an  increase  of  numbers  and  pay.  He  now  asked  a 
question  in  the  House,  and  secured  a  promise  of  an  increase 
of  pay ;  but,  deeming  this  insufficient,  a  few  days  later  he 
moved  for  and  obtained  a  Select  Committee  to  inquire  into 
the  condition,  &c.,  of  the  force.  In  the  course  of  his  sjieech 
in  making  the  motion,  he  said : 

"  This  is  not  a  grievance  of  to-day,  for  it  has  been  in  exist- 
ence since  1882,  and  therefore  I  am  not  posing  as  the  champion 
of  the  Kimberley  police,  but  advocating  the  protection  of 
life  and  property  in  Kimberley.  In  March  1882  ]Mr.  Bernard 
Shaw  wrote  an  exhaustive  report  on  the  police  of  Kimberley, 
a  copy  of  which  was  presented  to  each  House  of  Parliament, 
and  the  report  stated  that  the  force  was  entirely  inadequate. 
If  that  was  the  case  in  1882,  what  must  it  be  now,  when  the 
population  has  grown  to  such  a  remarkable  extent  ?    In  1884, 


THE   KDIBERLEY   ELECTION  105 

when  the  position  of  the  finances  of  the  Colony  demanded 
retrenchment,  the  Government  saw  fit  to  introduce  a  system 
of  probation  in  the  force  and  also  reduced  the  rate  of  pay  to  six 
shillings  a  day.  I  think  that,  in  view  of  the  general  tone  and 
the  report  of  the  Police  Commissioners,  and  also  the  fact  that 
the  matter  has  been  taken  up  by  the  Kimberley  press,  I  have 
shown  the  necessity  for  a  Select  Committee.  I  regret  that 
the  Government  have  not  seen  their  way  clear  to  place  upon 
the  estimates  a  sum  sufficient  for  the  protection  of  life  and 
property  in  Kimberley.  There  are  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty  members  of  the  police  foi-ce  in  Kimberley,  and  as  the 
usual  system  of  beats  is  followed,  there  are  consequently  only 
about  forty  men  on  duty  at  one  time,  so  that  it  amounts 
to  the  fact  that  to  guard  60,000  people,  including  five 
important  camps  of  different  mining  companies,  there  are 
just  forty  policemen.  I  am  surprised  to  see  that  the  Treasurer- 
General  has  not  seen  fit,  considering  the  handsome  surplus  he 
has  got,  to  provide  the  necessary  fmids  for  the  increase  of 
this  most  important  force.  The  wages  of  an  ordinary  miner, 
a  presumably  honest  white  man,  are  from  five  to  ten  pounds  a 
week ;  and  if  this  sum  has  to  be  paid  for  an  ordinary  miner, 
how  can  it  be  expected  that  the  police  will  be  honest  at 
from  six  shillings  to  eight  shillings  a  day  ?  I  hope  that  the 
Government  will  see  fit  to  increase  the  force  by  another  fifty 
men,  and  also  to  increase  the  pay,  so  that  the  Kimberley 
police  force  may  be  made  a  good,  sound  body  of  men.'' 

In  concluding  the  debate  Barnato  said  : 

"  I  cannot  agree  with  the  Treasurer-General  that  no  good 
case  has  been  made  out.  The  Government  can  want  no 
higher  authorities  for  my  statements  than  the  Police  Com- 
missioners who  have  been  in  office,  and  the  reports  which  they 
have  from  time  to  time  submitted.  It  has  been  said  that 
Kimberley  pays  nothing,  as  other  towns  do  ;  but  this  is  not 
correct,  for  the  ratepayei's  have  to  pay  a  tax  of  threepence  for 
municipal  police,  a  coal-tax,  a  water-tax,  and  a  bread-tax. 
It  is  unfair  to  compare  the  case  of  Knnberley  with  Barkley 


106  B.   I.   BARNATO 

West,  inasmuch  as  the  population  differs  enormously.  I 
certainly  think  I  have  made  out  a  prima  facie  case  for 
consideration,  and  I  hope  that  the  Committee  will  be  granted. 
It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  diamond  industry  pays 
separately  for  the  special  detective  force  organised  under  the 
Diamond  Trade  Act.  I  can  assure  you,  in  conclusion,  that  the 
men  of  the  police  force  cannot  live  in  Kimberley  at  all  decently 
on  their  present  rates  of  pay."" 

The  Committee  A\as  carried  against  the  Government  by 
thirty-four  votes  to  thirty. 

The  matter  seems  not  of  very  great  importance  now,  but 
I  have  purposely  quoted  from  the  speech,  because  on  those 
very  reasonable  remarks  there  were  founded  two  charges  by 
Bamato''s  enemies :  first,  that  he  desired  the  })olice  force  to  be 
poor  and  undermanned,  so  that  it  should  be  more  accessible  to 
coniiption  ;  second,  and  on  a  different  occasion,  that  he  had 
stigmatised  the  whole  police  force  of  Kimberley  as  con-upt, 
and  that  no  one  had  had  better  chances  for  form  in  o-  such  an 
opinion. 


CHAPTER   VII 
FROM  DIAMONDS  TO   GOLD 

Transvaal  goldfields  —  Barnato  visits  the  Rand  —  Misled  by 
experts — Second  visit  and  personal  examination — The  "  financial 
Gibraltar"  of  South  Africa — Buys  gold  mines  and  building  sites — 
His  first  Rand  gold-mining  company — His  firm  faith  in  the  per- 
manence of  the  goldfields — "  Wait,  have  confidence  as  I  have  " 

AVjth  the  new  year,  1889,  a  new  era  commenced  in  Barnato's 
life.  Henceforth  all  his  energies  and  powers  of  work  were 
devoted  to  the  exploitation  and  development  of  the  newly- 
discovered  goldfields  in  the  Transvaal  Republic.  His  work 
in  Kimberley  was  virtually  ended  when  the  terms  of  amalga- 
mation were  decided  upon  between  Rhodes  and  himself;  there 
were  no  more  mines  to  develop,  no  more  claims  to  float  into 
companies ;  a  definite  policy  of  working  had  been  laid  down, 
and  the  management  and  control  resolved  itself  into  the 
merest  matter  of  routine.  For  a  time  the  keen  election  contest 
kept  him  fully  engaged,  but  when  that  had  ended  in  triumph 
it  seemed  to  him  that  everything  he  had  in  hand  had  come  to 
an  end  at  once;  so,  by  way  of  recreation  and  change,  he 
decided  on  a  trip  to  the  Witwatersrand,  or,  as  it  is  more 
generally  and  shortly  termed,  the  Rand. 

Away  back  in  the  far  seventies  there  had  been  discoveries 
of  gold-bearing  quartz  reefs  in  the  mountainous  and  rugged 
parts  of  the  Transvaal,  and  in  1884  a  flourishing  township 
had  been  established  at  Barberton  for  mining  and  crushing 
this  quartz.  In  1885  it  began  to  be  rumoured  amongst  the 
travellers  between    Barberton  and  the  then  great  flnancial 


108  B.    I.   BAllXATO 

and  speculative  centre  of  South  Africa,  Kiniberley,  that  the 
curious  outcrops  of  conglomerates  extending  along  the  ridge 
of  the  watei*shed  of  the  Transvaal,  the  Witwatei-srand  (literally 
White  Watei-s  Kange)  were  gold-beanng.  During  1886,  in 
spite  of  all  the  obstacles  arising  from  an  utter  absence  of 
roads  and  timber,  sufficient  machinery  had  been  erected  to 
test  the  gold-bearing  conglomerate  thoroughly ;  and  it  was 
found  that,  even  with  the  crude  appliances  available,  there 
was  produced  15  dwts.  and  upwards  of  gold  from  each  ton 
of  rock  ("  reef"  it  was  called).  This  was  noised  abroad  and 
a  great  rush  of  gold-seekers  ensued,  which  entailed  great  loss 
and  much  suffering  on  the  poorer  men,  for  there  was  no 
alluvial,  and  to  mine  the  reef  required  capital  and  special 
skill.  There  was,  however,  a  sufficient  number  of  moneyed 
men  there,  chiefly  from  Kimberley,  to  commence  mining  in 
many  places,  and  to  lay  out  the  new  township  now  called 
Johannesburg. 

Barnato  had  never  cared  for  Barberton,  or  any  of  the 
quartz-mining  jiropositions,  for  quartz  veins  are  too  liable  to 
pinch  out,  and  the  prospects  are  generally  uncertain  ;  also  at 
that  time  all  his  energies  and  capital  were  absorbed  in  the 
fight  with  Rhodes.  In  1887,  however,  such  strong  evidences 
were  adduced  of  the  permanent  wealth  of  the  Hand  reefs  that 
Baniato  went  up  there  in  person,  and  because  he  had  himself 
no  special  knowledge  of  gold-mining,  and  had  now  too  much 
to  do  to  be  able  to  spend  years,  as  at  Kimberley,  in  slowly  and 
laboriously  gaining  special  knowledge,  he  retained  and  took 
up  with  him  two  of  the  foremost  mining  experts  in  the  world 
to  advise  as  to  the  probability  of  permanence.  Their  names  do 
not  matter  now,  but  their  reports  had  a  serious  influence  on  the 
future  of  the  Transvaal,  for  they  induced  Barnato  to  leave  the 
Rand  severely  alone.  The  conditions  under  which  diamonds 
were  obtained  at  Kimberley  varied  from  all  previous  ex|3erience, 
and  before  the  richness  of  the  Rand  conglomerate  was  proved, 
it  had  never  been  dreamt  that  gold  could  be  found  in  such  a 
formation.     The  experts  could  not  deny  the  actual  and  real 


FROM  DIA:M0XDS   to   gold  109 

presence  of  some  gold,  but  they  affirmed  that  the  outcrops  of 
reef  were  merely  the  elevated  beds  of  old  watercourses,  and 
that,  therefore,  the  auriferous  rock  could  not  possibly  extend 
to  any  depth.  Barnato  had  already  such  work  in  hand  that 
he  did  not  know  whether  it  would  end  in  victory  and  defeat,  and 
it  is  probable  that  he  was  rather  glad  to  receive  the  decided 
reports  against  the  new  ventures.  At  any  rate,  after  a  very 
brief  stay  he  returned  to  Kimberley  in  haste,  leaving  others 
to  bum  their  fingers  or  reap  a  rich  reward. 

A  few  months  sufficed  to  prove  that  the  experts"'  opinions 
were  wrong,  and  early  in  1888  Neville  Abrahams  was  sent 
from  Kimberley  to  represent  Barnato  Brothers  on  the  Rand. 
Directly  the  election  was  over  in  November  1888,  Barnato 
himself  went  there,  but  still  sceptical.  He  amved  on 
November  28,  and  a  week  of  incessant  travelling  along  the 
reef,  examining  the  different  properties  where  development 
had  been  attempted,  and  gathering  evidence  of  mine  managers 
and  miners,  convinced  him  that  he  was  face  to  face  with  a 
far  more  important  and  promising  industry  than  even  the 
Kimberley  diamonds.  On  St.  Andrew's  Day  he  was  a  guest 
at  the  Scottish  gathering  and  banquet  held  in  the  Theatre 
Royal  (still  standing  in  Market  Street,  though  now  converted 
into  a  dry  goods  store),  and  in  responding  to  one  of  the  toasts, 
said: 

"  I  am  proud,  pleased  and  happy  to  find  myself  amongst 
you  to-night ;  for  although  I  am  a  stranger  in  a  certain  sense, 
yet,  when  I  look  round  and  see  so  many  faces  familiar  to  me> 
I  realise  that  I  am  to  a  great  extent  with  old  friends  and 
acquaintances.  I  came  to  Johannesburg  with  one  object,  and 
that  was  recreation,  for  I  have  gone  through  many  troubles 
lately,  and  have  encountered  much  opposition ;  though  I  have 
succeeded  in  getting  the  better  of  my  opponents,  and  have,  I 
may  say,  annihilated  them.  I  do  not  wish  to  boast  of  this, 
nor  to  refer  to  it  any  more,  for  the  opposition  in  Kimberley 
has  shown  that,  though  I  have  some  enemies,  I  have  hosts 
of  friends,  who,  rallied  round  me  manfully,  and  enabled  the 


110  B.   I.   BARNATO 

battle  to  be  w  on.  I  had  no  occasion  to  appeal  to  my  friends, 
for  at  the  firet  attack  they  came  round  me  in  a  body. 

"  I  am  at  }>resent  merely  a  visitor  here,  but  I  hope  soon  to 
become  a  permanent  resident.  I  came  here  first  some  ten 
months  back,  and  I  will  confess  that  I  did  not  then  form  a 
bright  opinion  of  the  Johannesburg  goldfields.  Now  things 
are  altered,  and  I  am  already  convinced  that  Johannesburg 
will  soon  be  one  of  the  greatest  and  most  prosperous  towns 
in  South  Africa.  You  must  not  think  that  I  am  anxious  to 
praise  Johannesburg  up  at  present,  for  I  have  very  little 
interest  here,  and  nothing  to  sell ;  but  I  hope  to  have  very 
large  interests  shortly.  It  is  an  old  and  true  saying  that  one 
cannot  pay  too  much  for  a  good  thing.  I  went  to  the  Diamond 
Fields  in  the  early  days,  and  when  I  at  length  bought  into 
the  mines,  I  paid  a  good  price  for  my  claims ;  but  it  was  not 
too  much,  and  I  profited  by  the  investment.  I  am  now 
willing  to  pay  a  good  price  for  Rand  stocks  to-day.  I  do  not 
wish  you  to  be  led  away  by  my  opinion,  but  I  can  assure  you 
it  is  my  firm  conviction  that  a  very  bright  future  awaits  tliese 
fields,  and  that  the  goldfields  of  the  Transvaal  will  be  to 
South  Africa  generally  what  Kimberley  has  been  to  the  Cape 
Colony.  The  Cape  Colony  was  in  a  very  bad  way  before  the 
discovery  of  the  diamonds.  I  think  you  will  all  agree  with 
me  that  Johannesburg  is  the  most  unique  city  in  South 
Africa,  considering  that  it  has  only  been  in  existence  two 
years.  I  can  assure  you  that,  when  I  arrived  here  a  few  days 
ago,  I  felt  simply  paralysed  at  the  sight  of  what  had  been 
done.  The  mail  left  for  England  to-day,  and  if  some  of  you 
here  had  only  been  able  to  look  over  my  shoulder,  and  read 
what  I  wrote  to  some  of  the  leading  financiers  at  Home  about 
the  prospects  of  these  goldfields,  you  would  have  been 
astonished.  I  came  for  a  visit,  but  I  shall  stay  for  months, 
and  I  look  forward  to  Johannesburg  becoming  the  financial 
Gibraltar  of  South  Africa."" 

AVhatever  Bai'nato''s  regi'ets  may  have  been  that  he  had 
not  before  been  better  advised,  he  spent  no  time  in  grumblings, 


FROM   DIAMONDS   TO   GOLD  111 

but  sedulously  set  to  work  to  acquire  properties ;  not  merely 
in  mining  propositions,  but  in  real  estate ;  for  it  was  evident 
that,  since  the  gold-mining  industry  promised  permanence, 
building  sites  in  the  rapidly  increasing  town  would  soon  be  at 
a  premium.  He  carefully  examined  into  everything  for  him- 
self, and,  as  usual,  transacted  his  business  in  person.  The 
rapidity  of  his  operations  during  December  and  the  following- 
three  months  astonished  even  the  go-ahead  capitalist  pioneere 
who  had  had  the  start  of  him  by  a  year.  On  November  30 
he  was  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land.  By  the  end  of  the  year 
he  had  acquired  a  vast  extent  of  claim-ground,  containing 
auriferovis  reefs  of  proved  value ;  he  had  bought  every  build- 
ing; site  in  and  about  what  he  intended  should  be  the  centre 
of  business  of  the  new  town  that  he  could ;  he  had  projected 
a  plan  for  a  large  stock-exchange,  and  suites  of  offices  to  fix 
the  business  centre  where  it  would  be  most  convenient  to 
himself ;  he  had  planned  the  erection  of  a  huge  pile  of  other 
offices  to  be  called  Bamato  Buildings  ;  and  he  had  himself 
outlined  the  various  limited  companies  who  were  to  buy  all 
the  various  undertakings  from  him  and  manage  them.  He 
had  then  the  serious  idea  of  buying  up,  or,  at  any  rate, 
of  acquiring  a  preponderating  interest  in  every  undertaking 
and  business  on  the  Rand.  This  was  found  to  be  too  great 
an  undertaking  for  his  resources ;  but  he  did  actually  become 
within  two  months  the  largest  holder  of  mining  claims  and  of 
real  estate,  and  the  interests  of  his  firm  in  the  Witwatersrand 
have  never  since  been  materially  lessened.  As  a  practical 
proof  of  his  faith  in  the  permanence  of  the  goldfields  of  the 
Rand,  he  decided  to  build  a  large  house  for  his  own  dwelling- 
place,  and  tendei-s  were  called  for  its  erection.  The  plans  and 
specifications  could  be  consulted  at  the  architecfs  offices  up 
to  January  12. 

So  .glowing  were  Bamato''s  reports  from  this  promising 
Golden  City,  that  his  nephew  and  principal  partner,  Woolf 
Joel,  came  up  from  Kimberley  for  a  few  days  to  see  for  him- 
self.    At  a  dinner  given  in  his  honour  on  New  Year's  Day, 


112  B.   I.   BARNATO 

1889,  he  humorously  explained  his  visit  in  the  following 
sentences,  which  of  themselves  throw  a  strong-  light  on 
Bamato's  own  convictions. 

After  referring  to  his  own  incredulity,  he  said :  "  A  few 
months  ago  all  my  Kimberley  friends  kept  dinning  into  my 
eai"s,  '  Oh,  vou  should  see  Johannesburg,"*  and  !Mr.  Abrahams, 
of  om*  firm,  came  uj)  and  wrote  lettei-s  so  full  of  glowing 
accounts  of  the  place,  and  proposing  such  grand  schemes, 
that  I  began  to  think  of  coming  up.  Mr.  Barnato  came  up 
instead,  and  if  Abrahams''  letters  were  exciting  Barnato''s 
were  ten  times  more  so.  Well,  knowing  the  sharp  business 
characters  of  the  men  of  Johannesburg,  and  the  easily  to  be 
imposed  on  nature  of  ]Mr.  Baniato,  I  felt  that  it  was  absolutely 
necessary  for  me  to  come  up  and  look  after  my  partner.  I 
am  glad  that  I  came.  I  have  visited  the  mines  and  seen  for 
myself,  and  nothing  but  the  most  pressing  business  necessity 
could  induce  me  to  leave  again  so  soon." 

Barnato  also  made  an  after-dinner  speech  in  high  eulogy  of 
the  place.  So  large  and  notorious  had  been  his  investments 
during  the  short  period  of  four  weeks,  that  a  silly  report  had 
spread  to  the  effect  that  he  had  sold  out  all  his  Kimberley 
interests  to  invest  in  the  Rand.  He  admitted  that  he  had 
largely  invested,  but  he  emphatically  denied  that  he  had  in 
any  way  diminished  his  Kimberley  interests.  In  conclusion, 
he  stated  that  he  should  remain  on  the  Rand  until  he  had  to 
go  to  Capeto\m  for  the  opening  of  Parliament  in  May, 

On  January  2  a  paragraph  appeared  in  the  Johannesburg 
Standard  that  Barnato  had  acquired  all  the  claims  and 
property  of  the  Moss  Rose  and  Primrose  Companies.  These 
properties  were  shortly  afterwards  floated  into  the  New 
Primrose  Gold  IVIining  Company,  Barnato's  fii-st  mining 
flotation  on  the  Rand.  As  I  write  now,  the  one  pound  shares 
of  this  company  stand  at  4|.  The  hurried,  and  to  other 
people  who  stood  aghast  at  the  extent  of  his  operations, 
apparently  rash  speculation  of  that  wonderful  month  has  at 
any  rate  in  this  instance  stood  the  test  of  time,  and  proved 


FROM   DIAMONDS   TO   GOLD  113 

the  accuracy  of  his  predictions.  The  Johannesburg  Estate 
Company,  founded  at  the  same  time,  has  also  experienced  a 
most  prosperous  career  for  nine  years  ;  and  although  it  has 
been  concerned  with  real  estate,  ground -rents,  and  trading 
operations,  as  distinct  from  the  more  speculative  mining,  it  has 
proved  a  mine  of  wealth  to  its  shareholders,  and  its  one  pound 
shares  are  to-day  at  2y\. 

On  February  2  Mrs.  Barnato  arrived  in  Johannesburg,  and 
the  cheerful  morning  breakfast  gatherings,  especially  on 
Sunday  mornings,  became  henceforth  a  feature  of  and  a  factor 
in  the  development  of  the  Rand. 

From  the  time  of  this  first  real  visit  to  the  Rand  in 
November  1888,  Barnato  was  without  exception  and  con- 
tinuously the  most  popular  man  on  the  Fields  as  he  had  been 
at  Kimberley.  He  was  uncompromising  in  the  assertion  of 
his  rights,  unceasing  in  advocating  and  advancing  the  interests 
of  his  firm.  Those  who  tried  a  fall  with  him,  or  who  endea- 
voured by  any  trick  to  get  the  better  of  him,  still  found, 
as  the  Dutch  farmers  attending  the  Kimberley  market  had 
found  years  before,  that  sooner  or  later  they  had  a  bad  day  ; 
but  although  the  men  with  whom  he  struggled  for  pre- 
•eminence  could  not  always  be  his  cordial  friends,  there  was 
never  at  Johannesburg  any  of  the  bitter  spirit  that  had 
envenomed  Kimberley  life.  Personally  he  was  to  all  men  just 
the  same  blithe,  debonair  Barney,  hail-fellow-well-met  with 
all,  and  apparently  utterly  careless  as  to  whom  he  talked  with 
and  what  he  said,  but  his  tongue  never  betrayed  what  his 
judgment  bade  him  to  conceal.  The  ready  good-fellowship, 
the  lively  tongue,  the  sparkling  wit  were  perfectly  natural, 
never  assumed  ;  yet  he  ever  made  man  in  particular  and  in 
general  his  special  study,  and  all  was  fish  that  came  to  his 
net  so  long  as  it  could  be  turned  to  the  advantaoje  of 
Barnato  Brothers  and  all  who  trusted  and  supported  the  firm. 
He  was  indeed  the  incarnation  of  the  spirit  of  business,  but  in 
a  perfect  bohemian  guise.  His  financial  schemes  were  the 
<'onstant  wonder  of  the  Rand,  yet  he  was  ever  the  darling  of 

H 


114 


B.   I.   BARNATO 


the  peo})le ;  and  at  public  dinnei*s  or  on  the  boards  of  the 
theatres,  where  he  frequently  appeared  at  benefits,  his  turn 
was  the  most  eagerly  desired,  the  most  loudly  applauded. 
His  first  appearance  on  the  stage  in  Johannesburg  was  in 
February  1889,  when,  at  a  performance  in  aid  of  the  building 
fund  of  the  Hebrew  Synagogue,  given  at  the  Globe  Theatre, 
where  Hyman's  Empire  Theatre  of  Varieties  now  stands,  the 
"  Ticket-of-Leave  Man  ■"  was  staged,  and  he  played  Bob 
Brierly  to  the  no  less  admired  Melter  Moss  of  Louis  Cohen. 
As  the  result  of  a  cold  caught  during  this  performance  he 
became  seriously  ill,  but  his  strong  constitution  rapidly  threw 
off  the  attack,  and  in  a  fortnight  he  was  about  again  as  brisk 
as  ever. 

Towards  the  end  of  March,  Barnato  presided  at  a  farewell 
banquet  to  Robert  Stroyan,  then  leaving  for  England,  when, 
amongst  other  speeches,  strong  testimony  was  borne  to  the 
part  he  had  played  in  the  most  recent  development  of  the 
Rand,  by  Sir  Thomas  Scanlen,  Prime  Minister  of  the  Cape 
Colony,  and  Mr.  Sauer,  Colonial  Secretary,  who  had  come  up 
to  spy  out  the  land  during  recess.  Towards  the  end  of 
March  he  made  another  appearance  on  the  boards,  also  of  the 
Globe  Theatre,  playing  Matthias  in  "  The  Bells,"  his  favourite 
character,  for  the  benefit  of  Miss  Emily  Levettez. 

The  list  of  gold-mining  companies  actually  at  work  on  the 
Rand  during  March  1889  and  their  results  for  the  month, 
were  as  follows : 


Name  of  Company. 
Crown  Reef 
City  and  Suburban 
Doornhoek 
Durban  Roodeport 
Dora 

Enterprise 
Heriot 
Fleming 

New  Grahamstown 
Stanhope  . 
Jubilee 


Gold  won  during 
month  in  oz, 

.   1665 

1292 

139 

•   1332 


300 
531 
135 
150 
560 

473 


FROM   DIAMONDS  TO   GOLD  115 

Gold  won  during 
Name  of  Company.  month  in  oz. 

Chimes 329 

Main  Reef          . 320 

May 1070 

Moss  Rose 397 

Salisbury  .........  1469 

Simmer  and  Jack -  963 

Robinson  .......         .         .  3250 

Walsingham     ........  262 

Croesus      .........  250 

Langlaagte  Estate 4800 

Royal 186 

Wemmer  .........  1457 

Nigel 406 

Black  Reef 206 

Mint 200 

At  Barberton,  the  earlier  gold-mining  centre,  the  Sheba 
alone  returned  2770  oz. 

Barnato''s  phenomenal  success  had  attractetl  many  imitators, 
and  advantage  was  taken  of  the  booming  market  by  these  to 
float  some  worthless  propositions  into  companies.  During 
April  the  inevitable  collapse  came,  the  banks  put  pressure  on 
the  clients  they  had  supported,  and  panic  set  in.  Bamato 
was  not  entirely  dissatisfied  that  this  should  be  the  case,  for 
while  he  took  good  care  that  all  his  own  ventures  were  well 
supported  it  cleared  the  ground  of  rubbish,  and  his  own  faith  in 
the  Rand  was  too  securely  founded  to  be  shaken.  He  went 
steadily  on  with  the  work  of  settling  on  a  firm  basis  all  that 
he  had  commenced,  and  especially  devoted  himself  to  the 
extension  of  his  real  estate  holdings.  All  who  had  stands  to 
sell  found  in  him  a  ready  purchaser,  and  he  made  his  faith 
and  his  own  position  very  clear  in  a  speech  delivered  at  the 
laying  the  foundation-stone  of  the  Bamato  Buildings  by 
Mi's.  Bamato  at  the  end  of  April.     He  said : 

"  With  reference  to  this  building,  my  confidence  in  the 
future  must  be  patent  to  all,  though  times  are  bad  and  things 
are  quiet  to-day.  I  find  that  many  are  panic-stricken  at  the 
com'se  of  affairs,   and  predict  that  before   the   building   is 


116  B.   I.   BARNATO 

finished  there  will  be  a  total  collapse  of  the  gold-mining 
industry  on  the  Rand.  I  tell  you  here  now,  that  I  have 
never  made  any  mistake  in  speculation  or  in  the  investment 
of  money,  and  I  prognosticate  that,  so  far  as  Johannesburg  is 
concerned,  though  now  things  are  gloomy  and  the  clouds  are 
thick,  the  sun  of  prosperity  still  shines  behind  them  and  will 
ere  long  burst  forth  again  in  all  its  glory.  I  do  not  want 
you  to  speculate  on  the  strength  of  my  words,  but,  remember, 
my  honest  conviction  is  that  you  have  a  bright  future  before 
you  in  this  place.  I  regret  that  I  did  not  come  here  two 
yeai-s  ago  and  place  money  in  bricks  and  mortar ;  but  you  see 
I  am  making  up  for  lost  time  by  doing  it  to-day  in  the  face 
of  depression,  and  I  am  showing  my  confidence  in  the  stability 
of  the  town  by  solid  and  irremovable  investment.'^ 

In  May  he  left  for  Kimberley  with  Mrs.  Barnato  en  route 
for  Capetown  and  Parliament,  and  at  the  usual  farewell 
banquet,  in  the  course  of  a  lengthy  speech,  he  reviewed  his 
own  work  on  the  Rand,  and  gave  an  outline  of  what  he  hoped 
to  accomplish  in  Parliament,  foremost  amongst  which  was  to 
be  the  pressing  forward  of  the  Cape  Colony  Railways  towards 
the  Rand.     In  conclusion,  he  said  : 

"Though  I  am  going  away  I  am  leaving  my  interests 
behind,  and  I  still  hold  the  opinion,  expressed  soon  after  my 
arrival,  that  the  Transvaal  will  prove  the  financial  Gibraltar 
of  South  Africa.  I  do  not  consider  the  present  depression  a 
panic.  Stocks  have  fallen,  but  before  long  there  will  be  a 
revival.  I  advise  you  to  wait  patiently  for  awhile,  and  have 
confidence  in  the  place  as  I  have.'' 

He  arrived  in  Kimberley  on  May  14,  and  after  a  few  days'* 
stay  went  straight  on  to  Capetown. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE    REEFS   OF   THE    RAND 

From  Parliament  to  the  Rand  again — Barnato  at  the  Meyer  and 
Charlton  meeting — His  mastery  of  details — Difficulties  of  gold- 
mining —  Chemists  and  financiers  —  Money  and  patience  —  The 
Johannesburg  Waterworks  Company — A  pledge  of  good  faith — A 
veterans'  cricket  match — Barnato  as  auctioneer — A  voice  from  the 
"  profession  " 

Immediately  the  work  of  his  first  session  in  the  Parliament 
of  the  Cape  Colony  was  ended  Barnato  went  straight  back 
to  Kimberley,  and,  after  a  few  days'"  stay,  during  which  he 
delivered  his  great  speech  at  the  first  meeting  of  the  De  Beei's 
Consolidated  Mines,  was  again  en  route  for  the  Rand. 
Woolf  Joel  had  been  in  charge  during  his  absence,  and  the 
policy  inaugurated  then  by  the  senior  partner  of  the  firm,  of 
continually  extending  their  interests,  and  consolidating  and 
organising  all  that  was  acquired,  had  been  steadily  pursued. 
A  few  hours  sufficed  for  Barnato  to  thoroughly  post  himself 
up  in  the  position  of  affairs,  and  all  details  of  the  develop- 
ment of  the  Fields  ;  and  on  July  31  he  made  his  presence 
unmistakably  felt  at  a  meeting  of  the  Meyer  and  Charlton 
Gold  Mining  Company  by  a  vigorous  speech  against  a  certain 
course  of  action  by  the  then  directors  which  he  disapproved 
of.  He  maintained  his  objection  in  the  face  of  strong 
opposition,  and  carried  his  point  by  inducing  the  shareholders 
to  withhold  their  sanction  to  what  was  proposed  to  be  done 
until  legal  opinion  had  been  obtained. 

Throughout  Barnato's  career  he  never  failed  to  acquire  the 


118  B.   I.   BARNATO 

fullest  information  concerning  every  undertaking  in  which  his 
firm  held  even  the  smallest  interest.  Many  of  the  other 
wealthy  men,  pioneers  of  the  Rand,  devoted  their  whole 
attention  to  their  large  properties,  and  managed  them  with 
consjiicuous  ability  ;  but  they  would  have  been  puzzled  to 
state  off-hand  exactly  the  position  or  even  the  extent  of 
their  holdings  in  smaller  ventures  and  syndicates.  Barnato 
knew  everything  that  was  being  done  on  the  Rand  as  he  had 
known  at  Kimberley.  It  was  not  enough  for  him  that  he 
had  a  thorough  knowledge  of  all  his  gi*eat  enterprises.  He 
never  had  a  ^£^50  share  in  a  remote  exploring  syndicate  with- 
out being  always  fully  posted  as  to  all  that  was  being  done, 
even  to  the  most  trivial  matter.  And  it  was  no  trouble  for 
him  to  reckon  up  exactly  the  number  of  his  interests  and 
the  exact  position  of  each. 

On  one  occasion,  after  being  very  little  in  the  office  for 
some  twelve  days,  he  suddenly  entered  and  asked  what  the 
balance  at  the  bank  was,  and  what  business  had  been  done. 
AVhen  told  he  sat  down  and  made  some  brief  calculations. 

"  No,  that  is  not  right,'"  he  said.  "  Have  you  gone  through 
the  books  ?  " 

"  Yes ;  I  have  checked  everything  this  week.  All  is  in 
order." 

"  Well,  you  are  wrong,  I  tell  you.  You  are  about  ^4000 
out.     You  had  better  find  out  where  it  is."" 

The  books  were  re-examined,  every  detail  of  the  business 
of  the  firm  was  closely  scrutinised,  and  in  the  end — after  six 
weeks'  continuous  work — it  was  found  that  an  employe  had 
misappropriated  a  single  parcel  of  shares  of  a  little  over 
6P4000  in  value,  consisting  of  100  Kimberley  Centrals  at  d£'41, 
and  had  very  cleverly  falsified  the  entries.  Bamato  had  no 
knowledge  of  the  misdeed,  and  never  dreamt  of  suspecting 
the  individual ;  but  he  happened  to  want  to  know  the 
exact  })osition  of  affairs,  and  he  could  at  any  time  roughly 
balance  the  whole  of  his  vast  business  to  within  a  few 
pounds.     I    never   heard    him  enunciate  the  time-honoured 


THE   REEFS   OF  THE   RAND  119 

maxim  "  Look  after  the  pence,  the  pounds  will  take  care  of 
themselves,""  he  generally  preferred  to  clothe  his  thoughts  in 
his  own  terse  phrases,  but  it  was  never  better  exemplified 
than  in  his  conduct  of  business. 

In  the  particular  instance  of  the  Meyer  and  Charlton 
meeting  his  own  interest  in  the  company  was  very  small,  but 
he  did  not  like  what  was  proposed  to  be  done  and  stop])ed 
it.  The  Company  soon  afterwards  passed  under  the  direct 
management  and  able  control  of  George  Albu,  and  in  the 
.same  hands  it  still  ranks  as  one  of  the  soundest  and  best 
managed  companies  on  the  Rand ;  but  it  was  Barnato,  w ith 
Woolf  Joel,  who  prevented  a  grievous  mistake  from  being 
committed  in  its  earliest  days. 

A  leading  article  in  a  Johannesburg  journal  of  September 
12,  1889,  in  which  comment  was  made  on  the  Johannesburg 
Consolidated  Investment  Company's  first  dividend  of  5  per 
cent.,  paid  out  of  the  profits  on  the  first  four  months'"  work- 
ing, concluded  as  follows : 

"  Omitting  this  latest  venture,  Mr.  Barnato  is  responsible 
for  the  existence  of  six  companies  in  the  Transvaal ;  five  out 
of  these  are  admittedly  successful,  the  other  is  on  its  trial. 
This  is  an  excellent  record,  and  it  is  doubtful  whether  it  has 
ever  been  equalled  in  South  Africa  or  elsewhere." 

At  this  time  there  was  no  railway  within  two  hundred  miles 
of  the  Rand,  and  everything — iron,  w  ood,  and  even  provisions 
— had  to  be  brought  for  that  distance  by  ox-waggon.  The 
special  coiTespondent  of  the  Citizen,  writing  under  date  of 
August  16,  1889,  from  Johannesburg,  was  able  to  report  of 
Barnato's  first  gold-mining  venture,  the  New  Primrose,  as 
follows : 

"The  New  Primrose  adjoins  the  Moss  Rose  Extension,  on 
the  Johannesburg  side.  It  owns  twenty-four  claims,  twelve 
on  the  Main  reef  and  twelve  on  the  South  reef.  The  pro- 
perty is  twelve  morgen,  or  twenty-five  acres  in  extent.  They 
have  three  developed  reefs,  or  rather  three  reefs  in  the  coui"se 
of   development,  and   are   now  at  work   with   the   diamond 


120  B.   I.   BAHNATO 

apparatus  to  prove  the  whole  property.  The  breadth  of  the 
North  reef  averages  from  2  ft.  6  in.,  in  some  portions  of  it  the 
breadth  covei-s  5  ft.  The  Middle  reef  is  from  2  ft.  6  in.  to 
a  ft.  all  through.  The  Main  reef  measures  8  ft.  to  10  ft. 
They  have  six  incline  shafts  on  the  reefs,  varying  from  90  ft. 
to  100  ft.  in  depth.  The  main  incline  hauling  shaft  is  over 
1 50  ft.  deep. 

"  They  have  two  small  engines  working  on  the  incline 
shafts,  and  one  10-horse-power  pumping  plant  complete. 
Now  being  about  to  work  at  greater  depths,  they  are  receiving 
from  Howard,  P'arrar  Si.  Co.  a  20-horse-power  pumping  plant ; 
a  portion  of  it  is  on  the  ground,  and  the  rest  is  on  its  way. 
The  claims  lately  acquired  from  the  Moss  Rose  Company  are 
turning  out  splendidly.  From  these  claims,  when  they  were 
the  property  of  the  Moss  Rose  Company,  5000  ounces  of  gold 
were  taken  out  in  six  months,  and  the  manager,  Mr.  Champ- 
neys,  tells  me  that  some  of  the  reefs  in  these  claims  give  three 
ounces  to  the  ton. 

"  There  is  a  Sandycroft  battery  of  20  stamps,  driven  by  a 
20-horse-power  Marshall  engine,  and  they  are  just  adding 
another  10  stamps.  The  machinery  works  beautifully.  They 
have  12,000  tons  of  ore  in  sight  ready  for  getting  out  of  the 
mine,  increasing  at  fifty  tons  a  day  ;  and  there  is  at  grass 
over  500  tons,  with  an  immense  stack  of  hundreds  of  tons  at 
the  battery  in  course  of  delivery  to  the  mill.  They  put  from 
sixty  to  seventy  tons  through  the  mill  daily.  The  workings 
underground  are  on  the  Californian  system,  in  blocks.  The 
reefs  dip  south  at  an  angle  of  from  thirty-five  degTees  to  fifty 
degrees,  and  the  outcrop  of  the  reef  is  close  to  the  Northern 
boundary. 

"  This  Company's  buildings  are  all  of  solid  stone,  and  the 
ore  is  conveyed  by  a  tramway  which  runs  from  the  mine  to  the 
battery,  a  distance  of  half  a  mile." 

I  am  glad  to  be  able  to  give  this  extract  from  the  old  files 
of  an  inde[)endent  and  perfectly  unbiased  journal,  whose 
repoi-ter  described  exactly  what  he  saw.  This  was  what  Bamato 


THE   REEFS   OF  THE   RAND  121 

had  accomplished  within  nine  months,  working  as  it  were 
ahnost  cut  oiF  from  the  world,  with  only  waggon  transport 
to  rely  on.  All  the  other  properties  he  had  acquired  had 
been  developed  with  similar  energy,  and  when  the  year  1890 
dawned  upon  the  Rand,  Barnato  was  not  only  the  largest 
holder  of  mining  stocks  and  properties  of  all  kinds,  but  all 
that  he  held  was  being  actively  and  intelligently  managed, 
to  produce  cei-tain  and  regular  profit  at  as  early  a  date  as 
possible. 

This  was  a  ^ery  critical  period  in  the  development  of  the 
Rand  Goldfields.  During  the  whole  of  1888  there  had 
been  increasingly  wild  speculation.  The  early  theories  that 
the  gold  deposits  were  only  shallow  had  been  exploded. 
With  the  unquestionable  richness  of  the  early  developed 
mines,  and  the  certainty  proved  by  diamond  drill  borings 
that  the  reefs  extended  for  at  least  hundreds  of  feet  down 
into  the  earth,  a  boom  commenced,  and  the  prices  of  all 
stocks,  good,  bad,  and  indifferent,  went  up.  This  boom  was 
in  progress  when  Bamato  arrived  on  the  Rand  at  the  end  of 
November  1888,  and  his  public  speeches,  still  more  his 
rapid  and  extensive  purchases  in  all  directions  of  everything 
he  could  get  hold  of,  stimulated  the  rise.  If  other  men  had 
bought  and  started  the  boom,  he  had  come  in  when  high  tide 
was  apparently  reached,  and  had  been  satisfied  to  buy  in 
under  those  conditions.  He  might  have  waited  for  the 
inevitable  reaction,  but  since  he  had  not  been  on  the  Rand  in 
the  beginning  he  was  content  to  jiay  the  price.  When  the 
reaction  came  it  was  so  violent  that  many  of  the  pioneers  of 
the  Rand  were  infected  by  panic,  lost  heart  and  sold  at  panic 
prices.  There  was  indeed  much  to  discourage  even  the 
boldest  in  the  prospects  of  the  gold-mining  industry,  quite 
apart  from  the  fall  in  the  prices  of  shares,  and  the  consequent 
restriction  of  credit.  The  first  mines  were  worked  literally 
from  the  outcrops  of  the  reefs  in  the  open,  and  the  con- 
glomerate rock  or  banket  which  contained  the  gold  was 
crushed  in  small  batteries  with  light  stamps.     To  sink  shafts 


122  B.   I.   BARNATO 

and  continue  the  operations  of  ordinary  mining  meant  heavy 
ujachinerv,  nnd  although  the  manufacturers,  both  British  and 
American,  displayed  great  ingenuity  in  dividing  up  the 
weights  into  pieces  capable  of  w  aggon  transport,  the  cost  was 
enormous.  Then  it  was  found  that  heavier  stamps  were 
re(juii*ed  to  pulverise  the  conglomerate  so  sufficiently  as  to 
enable  the  mercury  on  the  plates  over  which  it  was  washed  to 
take  up  all  possible  gold.  Struben''s  mill,  the  first  erected 
on  the  Rand,  near  the  Bantjes  Company"'s  claims,  had  only 
five  stamps  in  the  battery,  of  I  think  less  than  200  lbs. 
weight  each :  the  present  batteries  have  hundreds  of  stamps, 
each  of  1150  lbs.,  and  in  some  cases  200  lbs.  heavier.  Sj^ecial 
difficulties  were  also  encountered  in  the  process  of  the  extrac- 
tion of  the  gold  from  the  crushed  banket ;  for  at  a  little 
depth  it  was  found  that  the  reef  contained  a  considerable 
quantity  of  pyrites  with  the  gold,  which  prevented  the 
amalgamation  process  to  such  an  extent  that  stuff  which  by 
assay  gave  twenty  dwts.  of  gold  to  the  ton  of  reef  left  only 
five  dwts.  on  the  plates,  the  rest  passing  away  with  the 
tailings.  The  Transvaal  Goldfields  have  since  witnessed 
the  repeated  and  brilliant  triumphs  of  the  chemist  and 
metallurgist  no  less  than  of  the  keen  financier  and  business 
man ;  and  to  Bettel,  Williams,  Butters,  Feldtmann,  with  a 
host  of  others,  is  due  the  position  now  definitely  attained  as  a 
gold-producing  district,  quite  as  much  as  to  Barnato  and 
those  who  financed  the  work.  The  aim  from  the  first  was,  of 
coui-se,  to  extract  the  very  last  gi'ain  of  gold  from  every  ton 
of  reef  mined.  This  has  not  yet  been  accomplished,  although 
Charles  Butters  claims  to  have  obtained  a  '997  extraction,  but 
the  years  of  work  and  experiment  have  brought  it  very  near 
accomplishment.  At  the  beginning  of  1890,  however,  the 
men  of  the  Rand  were  face  to  face  with  the  fact  that,  in 
spite  of  their  undoubtedly  rich  reefs,  they  were  only  able  to 
secure  twenty-five  per  cent.,  in  some  cases  less,  of  the  gold 
contained ;  and  that  the  enormous  cost  of  the  heavy 
machinery,  its  caiTiage  to  the  mines  and  erection,  together 


THE   REEFS   OF  THE   RAND  123 

with  the  high  wages  for  white  and  black  men  aHke,  made 
the  expenses  of  mining  so  great  that  this  return  could  not 
leave  a  profit.  It  ^^'as  verv  much  the  case  of  Kimberley  in 
the  early  days,  when  the  yellow  ground  failed  and  the  water 
and  reef  troubles  threatened,  but  with  this  difference :  that 
whereas  the  diamond-mining  industry  nearly  collapsed 
because  of  the  cost  of  mining,  plus  an  honest  belief  on  the 
part  of  the  majority  of  diggers  that  the  diamondiferous 
ground  was  nearly  all  worked  out,  there  was  on  the  Rand 
proof  that  the  gold-bearing  reefs  continued  for  hundreds  of 
feet  deep,  but  the  cost  of  winning  the  small  percentage  of 
gold  obtainable  was  prohibitive.  Bearing  all  this  in  mind,  it 
is  scarcely  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  slump  which  com- 
menced in  March  1889  continued  for  two  years,  until  indeed 
it  was  made  evident  that  the  gold  mining  on  the  Rand  was 
beyond  all  doubt  going  to  pay. 

During  all  this  time  Barnato  never  lost  confidence.  His 
sj^eech  at  the  commencement  of  the  slump,  when  Mrs. 
Barnato  laid  the  foundation  stone  of  the  Barnato  Buildings, 
has  been  quoted  at  the  end  of  the  previous  chapter.  It 
doubtless  seemed  to  many  of  his  hearers  then,  that  for  him 
to  say :  "  I  have  never  made  any  mistake  in  speculation, 
or  in  the  in\estment  of  money,"  was  merely  the  boastful 
utterance  of  a  man  who  had  his  own  reasons  for  desiring  the 
inflated  prices  of  boom  times  to  come  back  again ;  but  to  all 
■who  can  now  look  back  on  the  eight  years  that  have  ela])sed, 
that  speech  ^^as  pregnant  with  prophecy  to  be  fulfilled 
to  the  utmost.  He  had  been  tardy  to  believe  in  the  Rand, 
but  once  a  convert  his  faith  knew  no  doubt.  To  all  the 
difficulties  that  were  encountered  he  had  one  unvarying 
answer : 

"  The  gold  is  there,  in  the  earth,  beyond  a  doubt ;  money 
and  patience,  money  and  patience,  will  overcome  all  difficulties 
here,  as  they  did  at  Kimberley."" 

Therefore,  because  of  his  unswerving  faith,  he  not  only 
pushed  forward  the  development  of  his   mining  properties 


Ii24  H.   I.   BARNATO 

until  they  had  become  assuredly  gold-producing  and  profit- 
able ;  but  he  built,  amid  the  sneers  of  the  many,  his  Barnato 
Buildings,  with  a  hundred  suites  of  offices,  a  great  stock 
exchange  hall  with  more  outside  offices  and  shops,  a  great 
market  hall  350  feet  long,  and  laid  out  his  building  land  in 
suburbs  with  streets  and  plots  marked  off  ready  for  purchasers. 
Men  were  leaving  the  Transvaal,  businesses  were  being  shut 
up,  several  of  the  now  South  African  millionaires  were  living 
on  small  monthly  allowances  made  by  the  banks  who  had 
supported  them,  and  still  sorrowfully  and  fearfully  held  their 
scrip  ;  he  made  ready  for  the  time  when  there  would  be 
eager  competition  for  his  suburban  building  plots,  his  offices, 
and  the  stalls  of  his  market  hall.  It  came  in  time  as  all 
know  now ;  the  sun  did  break  through  the  clouds  as  he  had 
said  that  it  would ;  the  money  rolled  into  his  coffers,  and  the 
people  who  had  neither  memory  nor  foresight,  held  up  their 
hands  in  astonishment  at  "Barney's  luck,  just  the  same  as. 
ever."     Was  it  luck  ? 

It  was  at  this  period  of  universal  despondency  that  Barnato 
acquired  preponderating  influence  in  the  Johannesburg 
Waterworks  Company.  He  told  me  himself  during  one  of 
our  early  morning  walks  through  his  Berea  Park  at  Johannes- 
burg in  1895,  how  and  why  he  did  this. 

"You  know  that  Sivewright  was  one  of  the  early  ones  on 
the  Hand. 

"  Well,  early  in  1887,  before  my  fii-st  and  unfortunate 
visit,  he  had  sized  things  up,  and  had  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  there  was  going  to  be  a  gi'eat  city  here  which  would 
have  to  be  su})plied  with  water  ;  and  that  since  the  water 
would  have  to  be  sold  by  some  one,  he  might  as  well  be  that 
man.  To  begin  in  a  small  way  he  bought  the  Doornfontein 
springs  and  some  other  water  rights,  and  then  at  the  begin- 
ning of,  or,  at  any  rate,  early  in  1888,  he  formed  a  company 
in  Kimberley  to  work  the  business.  Strange  isn't  it  to 
remember  now,  that  in  those  days  Kimberley  was  the  financial 
centre  of  this  part  of  Africa ;  but  it  was,  and  not  only  the 


THE   REEFS   OF  THE   RAND  125 

Waterworks  Company,  but  several  of  those  which  are  great 
companies  at  this  present  time,  were  not  only  financed  from 
Kimberley,  but  had  their  head  offices  and  management  there. 
I  changed  all  that.  Sive\\"right  formed  his  company,  as  I  say, 
in  Kimberley,  with  its  offices  there,  and  most  of  the  shares 
held  there  too.  Barnato  Brothers  had  a  small  share  in  the 
concern,  more  because  we  were  asked  to  subscribe  than  for 
any  other  reason  I  fancy.  I  had  nothing  to  do  with  it  per- 
sonally, for  I  was  up  to  the  neck  in  the  amalgamation  work 
then,  and  did  not  think  much  of  the  Rand  either.  He  got 
to  work.  Dunbar  from  East  London  was  his  first  engineer, 
and  the  springs  were  opened  out,  reservoirs  planned,  pumping 
machinery  erected,  and  pipes  laid  for  supplying  the  town. 
It  was  in  August  or  September  that  there  was  a  gi-eat 
function  here  at  the  laying  of  the  foundation  stone  of  the 
service  reservoir.  Sivewright  presided  and  was  in  great  form  ; 
if  he  had  been  talking  to  sell  his  vendor''s  shares,  he  could 
not  have  done  better.  I  remember  it  was  just  before  the 
work  for  the  Kimberley  election  began,  and  there  had  been 
a  good  deal  of  talk  as  to  the  possibility  of  Sivewright  standing 
for  Kimberley. 

"  Well,  the  stone  was  well  and  truly  laid,  and  all  the  share- 
holders were  congratulating  themsehes  on  the  good  thing 
they  had  got  hold  of.  When  I  came  up  here  after  the 
election  all  was  going  Avell,  and  the  only  complaint  was 
that  the  water  leadings  and  connections  were  not  made  fast 
enough. 

"  In  March  1889  came  the  great  slump.  It  did  a  great  deal 
of  good  to  the  Rand  by  clearing  out  a  lot  of  the  rubbishing 
companies  that  had  been  floated  under  cover  of  the  boom, 
but  it  ruined  the  Water  Company,  In  the  first  place  they  had 
not  sufficient  working  capital  to  meet  the  heavy  cost  of  pipes 
and  machinery  brought  over  800  miles  of  railway  and  200  miles 
of  South  African  waggon  roads ;  and  then  as  they  were  depend- 
ing upon  the  rent  of  building  sites  for  a  good  part  of  their 
income,  when  the  slump  came  lots  of  men  left,  those  who 


126  «.   I.   BARNATO 

staved  could  not  pay,  and  this  failed  them.  Their  works 
were  then  unfinished  and  of  little  use,  they  tried  to  raise 
further  working  capital  and  coidd  not.  Why !  there  are 
firms  here  now  and  doing  well,  not  only  mining  men  but 
storekeepers,  who  were  then  established,  and  who  absolutely 
refused  to  put  another  pound  into  the  business  to  tide  over 
the  bad  time.  I  tell  you  that  these  men  shrugged  their 
shouldei's  at  the  idea  then,  and  were  rather  inclined  to  pull 
down  their  stores  and  trek  back  to  Kimberley,  they  had 
so  little  faith  in  the  gold-mining  ever  paying  permanently. 

"  Well,  I  had  faith,  as  you  know,  and  at  last  it  came  to 
such  a  pass  with  the  company  that  they  not  only  could  do 
nothing  more,  but  they  couldn't  even  pay  for  what  they  had 
bought.  The  next  step  would  have  been  a  forced  sale  under 
liquidation.  Then  I  stepped  in,  and  virtually  bought  the 
whole  concern  up,  lock,  stock  and  baiTel. 

"Why  did  I  do  this?  FU  tell  you.  I  knew  this  place 
was  going  to  be  great,  even  now  we  are  only  at  the  beginning 
of  it.  I  tell  you  now  I  knew,  and  I  told  the  men  of  the 
Rand  then  that  I  knew ;  but  they  wouldn't  believe,  even 
though  they  saw  me  every  day  putting  more  and  more  money 
into  the  place.  Water  companies  were  not  inuch  in  my  line, 
but  I  could  see  this  plain  enough;  that  while  the  slump  in 
itself  was  bad  enough,  if  the  water  supply  stopped  then  the 
town  would  be  uninhabitable,  and  would  be  ruined. 

"  What !  you  ask  why  did  not  others  who  had  interests  in 
the  place  step  in  and  help  ?  I  have  told  you  they  funked  it. 
They  thought  they  had  lost  heavily  and  were  afraid  of  losing 
■  more.  I  have  never  been  afraid  of  losing  my  money,  or  I 
should  not  be  where  I  am  to-day.  All  these  men  who  cry 
down  my  water  company  to-day,  in  order  to  bring  their  own 
rival  schemes  into  notice,  were  here  then,  but  they  had  not  a 
word  to  say.  Well  I  practically  bought  the  company  up,  set 
it  on  its  feet  again,  and  actually  kept  the  works  going  out  of 
mv  own  pocket  until  it  was  able  to  pay  its  way  again.  I  saw 
that  with  the  heavy  working  expenses  the  })rofit  from  water 


THE   REEFS   OF  THE   RAND  127 

alone  would  be  small,  so  I  added  to  its  landed  property,  and 
not  only  made  both  ends  meet,  but  got  a  respectable  dividend 
out  of  it. 

"  Now  I  tell  you  honestly  I  did  not  do  this  because  I  saw  it 
would  be  a  good  paying  thing.  Of  course  I  should  not  have 
done  it  if  I  had  not  seen  a  profit  sticking  out,  but  that  was 
not  the  reason ;  for  I  could  have  made  more  money  by 
bringing  in  other  water.  I  did  it  as  a  pledge  of  good  faith 
to  those  of  the  public  who  supported  me  and  followed  my 
lead.  I  am  proud  to  say  that  there  were  then — and  there 
are  many  more  now — thousands  of  men  who  went  in  for 
things  that  had  my  name  to  them,  just  as  others  always 
backed  Fred  Archer's  mounts.  I  had  come  late  to  the  Rand, 
but  when  I  did  come  I  put  my  money  in  everything  I  cared 
for,  and  people  followed  my  lead.  I  reckoned  it  up  then  this 
way  :  that  if  I  kept  the  water  company  going,  it  would  be  a 
greater  proof  of  my  good  faith  and  belief  in  the  place  than 
anything  else  I  could  do.  I  did  it,  and  it  answered.  The 
company  has  been  more  trouble  to  me  than  any  other  of  my 
undertakings.  It  has  cost  me  more  for  time  than  I  shall  ever 
get  out  of  it ;  but  mind,  I  don't  regret  it,  and  would  do  the 
same  over  again.     DVe  follow  me  ? 

"  I  did  think  once  of  buying  up  the  whole  of  the  Rand, 
and  in  that  slump,  if  I  had  chosen  to  let  the  water  company 
smash,  and  the  place  be  wholly  ruined,  I  could  have  bought  it 
up  in  three  months  on  my  own  terms ;  but  my  business  has 
always  been  fair  and  square.  All  who  went  in  with  me  had 
to  take  risks  as  I  had,  but  I  have  never  doubled  on  any  one  who 
trusted  me.'' 

The  Water  Company  of  Johannesburg,  its  troubles  and 
difficulties,  was  a  frequent  theme  A\ith  Barnato  when  he  was 
willing  to  talk  at  all ;  but  never  did  he  on  any  other  occasion 
speak  so  freely  concerning  it,  at  least  to  me. 

In  1892,  Barnato  himself  engaged  and  took  to  South  Africa 
the  most  experienced  mining  engineers  he  could  procure  from 
the  United  States,  viz.,  John  Hays  Hammond,  J.  V.  Clement, 


128  B.   I.   BARNATO 

O'Connor,  StaiT  and  othei-s,  to  reorganise  the  working  of  the 
mines. 

I  am  glad  to  be  able  to  quote  in  this  place  from  an  article 
on  Barnato  and  his  career  which  was  published  in  The  Star, 
Johannesburg,  on  January  10,  1890.  It  is  an  excellent 
summary  of  his  position  on  the  Rand  at  that  time.  The 
only  impoi-tant  inaccuracy  is  the  statement  in  the  early  part 
of  the  article,  that  Barnato  landed  in  South  Africa  "  with 
the  proverbial  half-crown  in  his  pocket."  The  last  para- 
gi'aph  is  as  follows  : 

"  Having  consolidated  his  diamond  interests  and  placed 
them  on  a  sound  basis,  he  turned  his  attention  to  the 
Witwatei-srand  Goldfields,  as  the  result  to  a  great  extent 
of  the  I'epresentations  made  to  him  in  Kimberley  in  March 
1887,  by  Mr.  R.  C.  Stroyan.  Mr.  Barnato,  however,  had 
still  a  fight  to  be  fought  which  delayed  him  some  months — 
viz.,  for  the  representation  of  Kimberley  in  the  Cape  House 
of  Assembly  ;  when,  out  of  seven  competitors  from  amongst 
the  leading  men  in  Kimberley,  he  was  elected  at  the  top  of 
the  poll  by  a  majority  of  about  500  votes.  In  the  meantime 
Mr.  Stroyan  returned  to  the  Rand  and  his  firm  negotiated 
for  some  of  the  best  propei-ties  here,  including  the  Glencairn, 
and  prepared  the  way  for  Barney's  ari'ival.  After  his  election, 
he  at  once  started  for  Johannesburg,  and  in  two  days  became 
one  of  the  leading  figures  here.  He  purchased  ground  in 
every  direction  at  what  were  thought  high  prices  at  the  time, 
but  which  purchases  would  to-day  realise  more  than  treble 
the  amount  paid.  He  floated  the  Johannesburg  Estate 
Company  (which  absorbed  the  Exchange  Buildings  Com- 
pany), the  Consolidated  Investment  Company,  the  Barnato 
Buildings  Company,  and  the  Waterworks  Company,  besides 
floating  and  reconstructing  some  of  the  leading  gold-mining 
companies  on  the  fields.  It  is  said  that  in  two  months  he 
})ut  over  two  millions  of  money  into  lands  and  gold  pro- 
perties. His  interests  in  the  Transvaal  are  now  gigantic  ; 
and  his  profits,  realised  and  prospective,  may   be  described 


THE   REEFS   OF  THE   RAND  129 

in  the  same  terra.     Without  doubt  the  increased  value  of 
landed  property  is  largely  due  to  Mr.  Barnato. 

"Not  in  the  commercial  world  alone  has  Barney  shone. 
Besides  being  a  most  brilliant  financier,  he  was,  in  the  earlier 
days  of  the  Diamond  Fields,  the  best  amateur  boxer  in 
Kimberley  ;  while  to  this  day,  such  a  favourite  is  he  as  an 
amateur  actor,  that  as  Matthias  in  '  The  Bells,"*  Kimberley 
will  not  recognise  any  other." 

On  January  25, 1890,  Barnato,  with  Mrs.  Barnato  and  Woolf 
Joel  left  Johannesburg  by  special  coach,  and  duly  an*ived 
in  Kimberley  on  the  way  to  England  on  the  27th.  The 
Transvaal  interests  of  the  firm  of  Barnato  Brothers  had  been 
thoroughly  built  up ;  the  firm  was  well  represented  at 
Johannesburg  with  a  complete  office  staff  (the  principal 
membei*s  of  which  are  still  there),  and  all  the  establishment 
necessary  for  the  chief  branch  of  such  a  firm.  For  a  time  it 
was  considered  that  the  interests  of  Johannesburg  would  be 
best  served  in  London,  by  close  attention  to  business  there. 

The  Transvaal  Truth  in  its  issue  of  January  18,  published 
the  following  paragraph  : 

"  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Barnato,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Woolf  Joel, 
leave  the  Rand  on  Saturday  next.  They  propose  remaining 
in  Europe  some  eight  months.  Barnato  Brothers  have 
invested  enormously  in  the  development  of  these  Fields,  and 
have  brought  in  still  greater  sums  by  the  firm's  reputation 
for  shrewdness  and  success.  Despite  the  envy  and  malice 
which  attend  every  successful  man,  that  shrewd,  humorous, 
and  even-headed  Barney  carries  with  him  the  goodwill  and 
good  wishes  of  respectable  Johannesburg.  Bon  voyage  and 
Au  revoir  to  him,  his  charming  wife,  and  nephew — South 
Africa's  '  coming  "■  man."" 

On  the  Thursday  preceding  the  departure  from  the  Rand, 
Barnato,  ever  ready  for  fun  and  to  provide  it,  took  part  in  a 
cricket  match  played  on  the  Wanderers  Club  ground — Veterans 
V.  Veterans.  The  following  report  appeared  in  the  Golden 
Age  on  the  following  day : 


130  B.  I.   BARNATO 

"  The  match,  aptly  styled  '  Veterans  v.  Veterans,'  was  one 
of  the  most  amusing  afternoon  entertainments  that  has  ever 
taken  place  on  the  grounds  of  this  popular  club.  To  see  such 
old  stagei-s  as  Messrs.  Stransky,  H.  Mitchell,  H.  Mundt, 
B.  Barnato  and  H.  Dell  in  the  field  gave  promise  of  plenty 
of  sport  during  the  afternoon.  Nor  were  the  public  disap- 
|X)inted  ;  for  to  see  Barney  and  Stransky  both  chasing  the 
ball  and  playing  football  with  it,  and  to  see  the  popular 
*  Barney  "^  chasing  the  ball  for  about  a  dozen  yards  on  his 
hands  and  knees,  and  then  crawling  round  a  telegraph-post  to 
finally  get  at  it  was  good.  He  also  had  the  honour  of  making 
the  winning  hit,  and  was  run  out  immediately  afterwards. 
On  his  return  to  the  pavilion  he  confidently  whispered  to  a 
friend  that  he  was  just  beginning  to  knock  the  bowling  about, 
and  it  was  foolish  to  run  him  out.'' 

Possessing  a  keen  sense  of  humour,  ready  wit,  perfect 
physical  health,  and  unimpaired  vigour,  Barnato  frequently 
carried  his  fun  into  his  business ;  but,  unfortunately,  he  always 
carried  his  business  into  his  fun.  He  crowded  the  work  of 
twelve  good  men  into  his  few  short  years,  together  with  all 
their  possible  amusements,  but  without  one  moment  of  real 
relaxation  to  the  end. 

"  Other  men  either  work  or  play,"  he  said  on  one  occasion. 
"  I  always  work  and  often  play  too.  That's  where  I  get  the 
advantage." 

I  am  indebted  to  a  friend  of  the  stage  for  the  following 
anecdote,  which  I  believe  refers  to  the  January  1890  coach 
journey  to  Kimberley.  This  gentleman  visited  Johannesburg 
in  1895  and  as  I  was  showing  him  round  he  said : 

"  I  was  here  before  in  the  early  days  when  you  had  many 
tin  houses  but  few  buildings,  and  had  to  play  in  what  was 
called  a  theatre.  As  we  came  here  from  Kimberley  by  coach, 
we  'met  the  returning  coach  at  some  miserable  stopping-place 
with  an  unpronounceable  name,  and  found  it  crowded  with 
Lionel  Brough's  crowd.  We  fraternised  of  course  at  once, 
and  amongst  questions  asked  and  answered  as  to  prospects  of 


THE   REEFS   OF  THE   RAND  131 

business,  theatre  accommodation,  &c.,  we  learnt  that  Brough 
had  with  him  a  quantity  of  scenery  and  props  which  he  did 
not  want,  but  had  been  unable  to  sell  at  Johannesburg.  At 
that  moment  Barnato  drove  up  on  his  way  back  to  Kimberley 
and  at  once  joined  us.  He  was  always  a  good  friend  to  the 
profession,  and  out  there  with  the  heavy  travelling  expenses 
between  the  mining  camps,  the  hard  work,  and  other  uncer- 
tainties, we  often  wanted  such  a  friend  then.  When  he  heard 
•of  the  scenery  he  said  :  '  Come  on,  Brough,  Fll  put  it  up  to 
auction.''  We  all  adjourned  to  the  open  veld,  all  the  cloths 
and  props  were  spread  out  to  view,  and  the  sale  commenced. 
It  was  one  of  the  most  amusing  things  I  ever  saw.  Barnato 
made  of  it  a  monologue  in  the  style  of  Charles  Matthews, 
•even  to  that  '  now  do  let  me  get  a  word  in  edgeways ""  in  *  My 
Awful  Dad,'  and  bought  in  everything  himself.  We  all 
■enjoyed  the  joke  tremendously,  but  to  our  great  sui'prise  he 
paid  Brough  the  really  good  prices  at  which  he  had  knocked 
the  lots  down,  and  made  them  a  present  to  us  in  the  most 
kind  manner  at  the  very  last  moment  as  he  drove  away. 
Many  a  professional  has  been  indebted  to  Barnato  for 
personal  kindnesses  that  the  world  will  never  know  of.  More 
power  to  him  and  long  life." 


CHAPTER  IX 
PRESIDENT  AND  FINANCIER 

Bamato's  relations  with  the  Transvaal  Government — The  Trans- 
vaal Company  Unlimited — From  the  President's  point  of  view — 
About  concessions — The  President  and  the  Judges — The  Nether- 
lands Railway  Company  —  Railway  negotiations — Position  of 
Johannesburg — Between  the  lions 

With  the  Government  of  the  Transvaal  Republic  Barnata 
determined  from  the  earliest  days  to  keep  on  the  most  friendly 
tenns,  and  in  this  he  was  entirely  successful,  except  during  the 
stormy  days  which  followed  the  sentencing  of  the  members  of 
the  Reform  Committee  of  the  abortive  revolution  of  January, 
1896.  His  own  words,  uttered  as  late  as  1895,  are  the  very 
best  possible  statement  of  his  whole  policy  with  regard  to 
Pretoria. 

"The  Transvaal  Government  is  like  no  other  government 
in  the  world.  It  is  indeed  not  a  government  at  all,  but  an 
unlimited  company  of  some  twenty  thousand  shareholders, 
which  has  been  formed  to  exploit  a  large  tenitory,  and  after 
being  unable  for  thirty  years  to  pay  any  dividend  or  even 
to  pay  its  clerks,  suddenly  struck  it  rich.  There  was  neither 
capital  nor  skill  in  the  company  itself  for  development,  and 
so  it  leased  its  ground  to  those  who  had  both." 

"  And  you  negotiate  on  this  basis,  then  .'' "" 

"  Yes,  I  stand  for  my  shareholders  to  do  the  best  I  can  for 
them — to  get  all  that  is  to  be  got.  Kriiger  the  President — 
and  I  am  glad  there  has  been  no  other  President  in  my  time — 
is  simply  Chairman  and  Managing  Director,  with  his  Executive 


PRESIDENT  AND   FINANCIER  133 

Council  as  the  Board,  and  the  State  Secretary  as  General 
Manager,  Of  course  Kriiger  always  endeavours  to  do  the  best 
he  can  for  his  shareholders,  the  Burghers.  They  had  a  hard 
time  in  the  early  years,  and  he  thinks  they  are  entitled  to  all 
they  can  get  now.  That  is  all  right  and  quite  in  my  line. 
Through  my  companies,  and  those  I  am  interested  in,  I  have 
often  to  see  the  Managing  Director  of  the  parent  company, 
and  we  always  get  on  all  right.'' 

"  That  means  you  get  what  you  want  ?  " 

"  By  no  means.  I  am  a  good  man  of  business,  I  hope,  and 
know  exactly  what  is  best  to  be  done  for  my  shareholders,  but 
so  is  he ;  and  he  will  never  do  anything  that  is  not,  in  his 
view,  for  the  benefit  of  his  shareholders.  So  we  talk  on 
quite  a  business  footing,  and  then  politics  never  trouble  us."" 

"  Then  what  about  the  National  Union  demand  for  the 
franchise,  and  the  doctrine  of  '  no  taxation  without  repre- 
sentation \? "" 

"I  don't  care  a  fig  for  doctrines,  and  if  you'll  just  keep 
that  word  politics  out  of  your  mind  you'll  see  the  whole 
thing  as  clearly  as  I  do.  If  I  had  a  company  going  on  all 
right,  and  shareholders  satisfied,  do  you  suppose  I  would  do 
anything  that  would  bring  in  a  lot  of  fresh  shareholders  ?  If 
there  were  men  who  wanted  to  come  in,  and  had  already  given 
themselves  away  by  criticising  the  management,  do  you  think 
I  would  have  them  at  any  price  so  long  as  I  could  keep  them 
out  ?  Not  much.  That  is  Kriiger's  position  and  the  Trans- 
vaal question  together." 

"  Then  in  your  opinion  Pi*esident  Kriiger  is  doing  the 
best  possible,  as  a  good  business  man,  for  his  Burghers  ?" 

"  No,  I  don't  say  that.  He  is  doing  well  according  to  his 
lights,  but  he  is  not  doing  nearly  so  well  as  he  ought  to 
because  he  is  afraid  to  incur  any  risk,  even  where  profit  is 
certain.  If  I  had  a  company  paying  twenty  per  cent.,  and 
twenty-five  per  cent,  was  possible  by  an  increase  of  plant,  my 
shareholders  would  have  the  twenty -five  per  cent.  Look  what 
happened  in  the  Raad  this  session.     The  Pretoria  townlands 


134  B.   I.   BARNATO 

are  known  to  be  gold-bearing.  Their  wealth  has  been  proved. 
For  the  fourth  or  fifth  time  a  proposal  is  made  to  proclaim  them 
under  the  Gold  Law,  and  Kriiger  goes  to  the  Raad  specially. 
AV^ith  tears  in  his  eyes,  and  every  dramatic  effect,  he  implores 
the  members  of  the  Raad  not  to  agree  to  the  proclamation 
because,  mark  you,  '  there  is  too  much  gold  in  the  country 
already,'  and  the  Raad,  in  deference  to  him,  declines  the  pro- 
posal. Then,  again,  we  have  an  unlimited  amount  of  low-grade 
reefs  which  cannot  at  present  be  worked  with  any  satisfactory 
margin  of  profit.  He  knows  quite  well — I  have  myself  put  it 
to  him  more  than  once — that  if  our  working  expenses  were 
lessened  by  a  reduction  of  the  taxes  on  foodstuffs  and  better 
management  of  the  railway,  the  amount  of  capital  invested  at 
remunerative  rates  would  be  trebled,  and  the  net  revenue  of 
the  Republic  would  be  tremendously  increased.  He  says  that 
if  the  taxes  on  mealies  and  forage  are  reduced  his  farmers  will 
not  get  such  good  prices,  and  that  it  will  cost  so  much  more 
for  extra  police  to  keep  new  goldfields  in  order.  I  wish  he 
would  see  that  the  liberal  policy  would  pay  him  best  and 
certainly.  But,  there,  his  great  dread  is  of  fresh  shareholders 
coming  in  to  disturb  the  present  management,  and  from  his 
point  of  view  he  is  quite  right." 

"  If  Krliger  and  his  Executive  Council  are  the  Board  of 
Directors  of  the  Transvaal  Unlimited,  with  Leyds  as  General 
Manager,  what  function  does  the  Raad  play .?  " 

"  Oh,  that  was  the  Committee  of  Inspection  appointed  by 
the  shareholders  when  things  were  a  bit  crank.  It  is  of 
use  now  to  support  the  Board  and  prevent  special  general 
meetings." 

Barnato's  interests  in  the  earlier  Transvaal  mining  opera- 
tions, and  at  Barberton,  were  small,  for  the  quartz  mining  did 
not  commend  itself  to  him ;  but  from  the  discovery  of  the 
Witwatersrand  Goldfields  he  was  frequently  in  residence  there, 
and  therefore  closely  in  touch  with  Pretoria.  His  business, 
his  companies,  his  industrial  undertakings  were  the  sole  object 
of  his  frequent  visits — never  things  political — and  therefore 


PRESIDENT  AND   FINANCIER  135 

he  was  welcome  always.  The  President  also  appreciated  the 
fact  that  Rarnato  did  his  business  in  person,  and  not  by 
deputy.  Speaking  to  a  deputation  which  waited  on  him  at 
the  end  of  December,  1895,  he  said  : 

*'  When  Mr.  Barnato  wants  anything,  he  always  comes  to 

see  me  himself,  and  we  talk  it  over ;  but and 

always  send  some  one  else,  unless  they  want  to  talk  about 
what  they  call  their  rights,  and  then  they  all  come  together."'"' 

On  two  matters  Barnato  found  himself  opposed  most 
strongly  to  Pretoria.  One,  which  may  be  numbered  among 
the  customs  of  the  place,  was  the  granting  of  concessions  to 
all  and  sundry  who  by  influence  could  beg,  or  by  money  and 
promises  could  buy ;  the  other  was  the  deliberate  policy  of 
the  President  to  subject  the  Courts  of  Law  of  the  country  to 
the  control  of  the  Raad  and  the  Executive  Council.  He 
averred  that  the  only  concession  he  ever  wanted  was  for  the 
supply  of  water  to  Johannesburg,  and  this  was  a  very  different 
affair  to  concessions  of  the  sole  right  to  make  jams,  dynamite, 
and  cyanide  of  potassium.  On  one  occasion  he  was  discussing 
the  general  question  of  concessions  and  State  monopolies 
with  the  President. 

"  Whatever  is  the  use,  Mr.  Kriiger,"  he  said,  "  of  granting 
a  concession  for  the  manufacture  of  cyanide  of  potassium  ? 
Bad  cyanide  is  of  no  use  to  us  for  gold  extraction,  and  to 
make  good  cyanide  requires  great  technical  skill,  elaborate 
apparatus,  and  special  materials,  all  of  which  will  have  to  be 
imported.  It  is  not  even  on  the  same  footing  as  the  jam 
concession,  for  that  might  use  up  the  finiit  of  the  country,  if 
your  Burghers  would  grow  fruit,  which  they  don't.  The  only 
result  will  be  that  when  your  concessionaire  has  his  cyanide 
factory,  you  will  impose  extra  import  duties  on  the  stuff  to 
force  us  to  buy  from  him,  and  our  cost  of  working  will  be 
further  increased.^' 

"Ah,''  remarked  the  President,  with  his  rare  smile  of 
superior  wisdom,  "  but  the  gold  industry  might  fail,  and  then 
we  should  have  the  cyanide  factory." 


136  B.   I.   BARNATO 

"  Of  what  use,""  said  Bamato  in  telling  the  story,  "  is  it  to 
talk  to  a  man  like  that  ?  "" 

The  interference  with  the  Courts  was  a  matter  of  much 
gi*eater  moment.  The  President's  opinion,  frankly  and 
clearly  enough  expressed,  was,  and  apparently  still  is,  that  as 
the  Raad  made  the  laws,  it  was  the  proper  authority  to 
interpret  them ;  and  that  when  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
Republic  decided  questions  of  law,  a  Minute  by  the  Raad 
should  if  necessary  be  the  superior  and  final  authority. 
From  time  to  time  Burghers  of  the  Republic  who  have  been 
aggrieved  at  decisions  of  the  Courts,  have  appealed  to  the 
Raad  for  redress,  and  there  has  been  frequently  manifested  a 
strong  inclination  to  deal  with  the  petitions.  The  most 
glaring  attempt  to  influence  the  course  of  law  that  any 
legislature  has  ever  been  guilty  of  was  recently  made  by  the 
Raad,  when  a  retrospective  clause  was  introduced  into  a  new 
])atent  law  while  a  celebrated  patent  case  involving  over  a 
million  of  money  was  before  the  Courts.  The  attempt  to 
introduce  the  retrospective  clause  was  happily  defeated, 
though  only  by  the  casting  vote  of  the  Chairman  of  the 
Raad. 

"  That  such  an  attempt  to  interfere  with  the  course  of 
justice  should  ever  have  been  made,'*''  said  Bamato,  "adds 
great  risk  to  the  investment  of  capital  in  the  Transvaal,  and 
opens  the  door  to  underhanded  attacks  on  vested  interests 
which,  if  successful,  would  render  all  business  uncertain  and 
unsafe.'" 

On  another  occasion  he  declared  that  it  was  his  influence, 
and  all  the  weight  that  he  could  bring  to  bear,  that  so  far 
influenced  the  voting  as  to  give  the  Chairman  the  opportunity 
of  casting  his  vote  against  the  iniquity ;  and  he  rejoiced  that 
he  had  been  able  to  avert  such  a  disgi'ace  from  a  country  by 
which  he  had  done  so  well. 

When  discussing  the  chances  of  the  last  election  for  the 
Presidency  of  the  Transvaal  Republic,  he  said  : 

"  I  hope  Kriiger  will  be  returned  again.     He  is  not  all  that 


PRESIDENT  AND  FINANCIER  137 

we  want  by  a  long  way,  but  he  is  the  best  that  we  can  have 
with  peace  at  present.  No  man  has  ever  had  a  more  difficult 
work  than  he  has  had  for  the  last  twenty  years.  The 
Transvaal  Burghers  are  a  mixture  of  many  interests  and 
practically  three  religions  ;  and  they  are  united  only  in  their 
opposition  to  the  strangers  within  their  gates,  who  are 
making  money  for  them  and  keeping  them  solvent.  The  old 
man  has  kept  his  team  together  and  has  them  now  well  in 
hand  :  we  don't  want  to  swap  coachmen  at  this  or  any  other 
river,^ 

"  The  Transvaal  Gold  Law  is,^  he  declared,  "  entirely 
satisfactory.  The  licence  fees  press  a  little  heavily,  perhaps, 
on  individual  miners  and  on  poor  companies,  but  then  the 
nature  of  gold-mining  in  the  country  is  generally  such  that 
the  individual  and  the  poor  company  have  neither  of  them 
any  chance.  The  reefs  can  only  be  worked  to  advantage  by 
wealthy  companies  with  complete  equipments.  Yes,  I 
remember  the  monthly  claim  licence  fee  was  a  pull  on  some  of 
the  men  who  got  hold  of  good  things  in  the  early  days,  but 
there  was  always  plenty  of  money  ready  when  a  man  could 
show  that  he  had  something  good.  I  remember  poor  old 
Wemmer  sitting  disconsolate  outside  his  hut,  where  the  head- 
gear of  the  AVemmer  Mine  now  stands.  He  was  stone  broke, 
couldn't  trace  the  continuation  of  his  reef,  and  was  in  arrear 
with  his  licence  fees.  The  next  day  he  found  the  reef  again 
quite  by  accident,  and  the  same  evening  stood  champagne  to 
the  camp.  Eighty  thousand  pounds,  I  think  it  was,  that  he 
sold  hisgi'ound  for,  to  the  Wemmer  Mine  Company  soon  after. 
He  was  able  to  pay  in  time  and  came  out  all  right.  Many 
men  and  some  companies  have  not  been  able  to  pay  to  keep 
their  rights  and  have  lost  them.  Well,  why  not  ?  If  I  rent 
an  office  and  don't  pay  the  rent  I've  got  to  quit.  If  I  do  a 
good  business  at  the  office,  perhaps  the  landlord  raises  the 
rent  on  me.     The  Gold  Law  doesn't  raise  the  rent." 

The  management  acts  and  tariff  of  the  Netherlands  Railway 
Company,  which  nominally  owns  and  controls  the  whole  of  the 


138  B.   I.   BARNATO 

railways  of  the  Transvaal,  constituted  in  Barnato''s  opinion  the 
most  legitimate  grievance  that  the  mining  companies  and  the 
new  population  of  the  country  suffered  under.  The  company 
was  formed  in  Amsterdam,  and  is  still  nominally  a  foreign 
corporation  with  its  only  board  of  directors  in  the  capital 
of  Holland  ;  but  the  Transvaal  Government  is  the  largest 
shareholder  and  exercises  a  paramount  control  through  its 
Commissioner  of  Railways,  while  it  has  the  right  of  expro- 
priation at  any  time,  the  purchase  price  to  be  calculated  on 
the  average  net  profits  of  the  last  three  years.  During 
Bamato's  1895  visit  to  the  Transvaal  the  railway  manage- 
ment and  charges  occupied  a  gi'eat  deal  of  his  time  and 
attention.  In  the  earlier  days  the  Netherlands  Railway 
was  merely  a  large  steam  tram  line,  extending  along  the  line 
of  reef  for  some  thirty  miles ;  but  when  the  junction  was 
effected  with  the  Cape  Colony  Railway  system  in  1892,  giving 
direct  communication  with  the  sea  even  though  at  a  thousand 
miles"'  distance,  it  became  an  important  factor  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  mining  industry.  When  the  junctions  had  also 
been  effected  with  Delagoa  Bay,  the  nearest  seaport  less  than 
four  hundred  miles  distant,  and  with  Natal,  the  railway  became 
still  more  important.  The  tariffs  were,  however,  maintained 
at  an  absurdly  high  rate,  no  less  than  threepence  per  ton  per 
mile  being  charged  for  coal,  and  other  things  in  proportion. 
In  1895,  after  all  the  junctions  had  been  effected,  it  became 
evident  that  the  Pretoria  Government  was  not  merely 
endeavouring  to  charge  the  highest  possible  tariff  for  the 
sake  of  profit,  but  was  endeavouring  to  make  differential 
rates  in  favour  of  Delagoa  Bay  as  against  the  Cape  Colony 
and  Natal  ports.  A  concession  had  even  been  gi-anted  to  an 
American  syndicate,  which  was  nominally  for  the  importation 
of  timber  for  mining  purposes,  but  was  extended  to  cover 
practically  all  kinds  of  merchandise ;  whereby,  however  much 
the  Cape  Colony  and  Natal  might  reduce  their  rates  to  secure 
such  share  of  traffic  as  they  could  by  legitimate  competition, 
the  syndicate  would  always  receive  over  the  Delagoa  Bay  route 


PRESIDENT  AND   FINANCIER  139 

rates  twenty  per  cent,  lower.  The  vessels  of  the  syndicate  were 
also  bound  to  deliver  Transvaal  goods  to  no  other  South 
African  port  than  Delagoa  Bay.  Of  coui-se  the  mining 
industry  of  the  Transvaal,  as  a  series  of  purely  business 
propositions,  had  no  concern  with  anything  but  the  best, 
shortest,  and  cheapest  route  for  trade ;  but  Delagoa  Bay  was 
so  handicapped  by  the  absence  of  landing  facilities,  and  such 
very  great  delays  were  caused  by  this  and  by  the  scarcity  of 
rolling  stock  on  the  single  line  of  railway,  that  the  attempts 
to  divert  traffic  to  it  by  differential  rates  caused  the  greatest 
dissatisfaction.  Then,  again,  practically  the  whole  of  the 
trade  of  the  Transvaal  of  whatever  description  is  conducted  in 
the  English  language,  and  certainly  ninety  per  cent,  of  those 
engaged  in  trading  operations  had  and  have  no  knowledge  of 
Dutch.  Yet  no  sooner  were  the  junctions  all  completed,  and 
the  Netherlands  Railway  Company  began  to  feel  its  feet,  than 
all  the  English  and  English-speaking  employees  were  replaced 
by  Hollanders  specially  imported,  many  of  them  with  no 
knowledge  of  railway  work.  Barnato  was  known  to  be  a 
welcome,  indeed  an  honoui-ed,  visitor  at  the  Pretoria  White 
House,  and  rumour  had  it  that  he  was  a  peculiarly  successful 
negotiator  there.  It  was  known  to  all  men  that  he  would 
never  plead  at  Pretoria  for  political  privileges,  but  it  was  at 
this  time  desired  by  the  leading  men  of  all  the  representative 
commercial  associations  that  he  should  endeavour  to  persuade 
the  President  to  a  more  liberal  policy  of  railway  manage- 
ment— to  show  him,  in  short,  that  while  taking  ample  care  of 
his  own  pet  company,  it  would  be  perfectly  safe  to  leave 
trade  to  choose  its  natural  routes.  In  his  mining  interests, 
then  about  to  be  consolidated,  and  in  his  industrial  enter- 
prises, Barnato  had  the  strongest  motives  of  self-interest  to 
urge  a  liberal  railway  policy ;  and  with  the  projects  he  had 
then  in  hand  he  was  particularly  anxious  to  stand  well  with 
all  men.  Nothing  then  was  wanting  to  urge  him  to  take  up 
the  railway  question,  and  he  went  into  it  thoroughly.  Men 
from  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  Chamber  of  Mines,  and  the 


140  B.   I.   BARNATO 

Mercantile  Association,  who  came  diffidently  to  coach  him  in 
traffic  returns,  time-table  rates,  and  delays,  found  to  their 
amazement  that  he  had  at  his  finger-ends  and  instantly 
available  the  special  information  and  details  of  which  they 
desired  to  give  him  elaborate  memoranda.  Four  times  he 
went  to  Pretoria  to  deal  specially  with  the  railway  questions, 
and  to  urge  upon  the  President  the  great  advantages  that 
the  Republic  would  derive  from  the  immediate  expropriation, 
instead  of  defeiring  it  until  the  purchase  price  was  trebled 
by  the'  inevitably  increasing  returns,  and  every  visit  was 
absolutely  without  result.  He  was  never  able,  even  in 
private  conversations  with  the  President,  to  discuss  the  subject, 
for  every  mention  of  it  was  met  with: 

"  That  is  a  matter  for  the  Netherlands  Railway  Company, 
with  whose  management  of  its  own  affairs  we  have  nothing  to 
do.     You  had  better  see  M ,  the  manager.'' 

To  any  reference  to  the  advisability  of  even  considering 
whether  the  company  should  be  acquired  by  the  State,  the 
stereotyped  reply  was : 

"  You  see,  the  Netherlands  Railway  Company  is  only  now 
beginning  to  pay  a  dividend,  and  if  the  gold-mining  ceased  we 
should  again  have  an  unprofitable  railway  undertaking."*' 

"  I  h<ave  never,""  said  Barnato,  "  been  more  completely  non- 
plussed over  anything  than  by  the  Pretoria  people  in  every 
attempt  to  talk  on  the  subject.  They  never  gave  me  a 
chance  to  show  that  I  know  more  about  their  own  railway 
than  they  know  themselves."''' 

At  fii*st  he  certainlv  thought  there  was  nothing  more  in 
this  than  the  President's  personal  unwillingness  to  risk  any- 
thing in  a  business  he  did  not  himself  undei-stand,  and  where 
a  large  profit  was  already  certain  even  under  the  management 
then  obtaining.  He  afterwards  learned  that  there  was  a 
deeper  motive,  for  when,  during  the  1895  session  of  the  Raad, 
a  member  was  induced  to  bring  forward  a  resolution  advo- 
cating the  immediate  expropriation  of  the  Netherlands 
Railway  Company,  the  President  at  once  went  to  the  Raad 


PRESIDENT   AND   FINANCIER  141 

and  in  secret  session  implored  the  members  not  to  be  so 
misled  by  interested  adventurers  as  even  to  discuss  such  a 
proposition.  To  buy  the  railway  would  be  to  strike  a  blow 
at  the  independence  of  the  State,  for : 

"  They  could  do  many  things  through  the  company  which 
they  could  not  do  themselves  because  of  the  Convention."" 

"  There,""  said  Barnato  when  he  received  this  information, 
"  I  felt  sure  there  was  some  very  special  motive  in  blocking 
me  every  time.  If  the  Pretoria  people  will  mix  up  trade  and 
politics  in  this  way  they  will  bum  their  fingers  very  soon." 

Five  months  after  this  vvas  said  came,  in  October  1895,  the 
Drifts  episode,  and  short  and  sharp  the  ultimatum  from 
London. 

"  Do  you  know  what  this  railway  matter  means  to  me .''  "^ 
he  said  sharply  one  morning  after  skimming  the  report  of  a 
Mercantile  Association"'s  meeting,  at  which  railway  mismanage- 
ment and  delays  were  the  sole  topics  of  discussion ;  "  Why, 
if  they  would  carry  coal,  as  they  ought  to,  at  one  halfpenny  a 
mile,  extend  their  system  by  another  line,  and  look  after 
their  business  as  I  look  after  mine,  I  should  be  able  to  spend 
two  millions  a  year  in  developing  low-grade  properties  that 
would  now  barely  pay."" 

In  the  welfare  of  the  town  of  Johannesburg  itself  he  had 
a  very  keen  interest,  for  though  he  never  cared  for  it  as  a 
place  of  residence,  and  it  had  no  close  association  with  his 
early  struggles  as  Kimberley  had,  he  was  personally,  and 
through  the  companies  he  had  founded,  the  largest  holder  of 
real  estate  there.  During  the  first  year  or  so  from  the 
foundation  of  the  town  it  was  quite  right  and  reasonable 
that  the  Government  of  the  Transvaal  should  regard  it  as  a 
mining  camp  only — a  place  to  which  there  is  a  rush  to-day, 
but  which  will  perhaps  be  a  howling  wilderness  of  deserted 
sheds  in  another  twelve  months.  Experts,  geologists,  and  all  the 
people  who  ought  to  know,  ridiculed  the  idea  of  permanence 
at  that  time,  and  even  in  1889  only  Barnato  and  a  few  plain 
business  men  with  strong  instincts  for  wealth  had  confidence 


142  B.    I.   BARNATO 

in  the  future.  It  was  not  surprising,  then,  that  the  erstwhile 
farmers  and  hunters,  who  had  the  supreme  authority,  should 
distrust  the  golden  future ;  but  when  the  town  was  eight 
years  old,  possessed  huge  brick  and  stone  buildings,  a  popula- 
tion exceeding  a  hundred  thousand  people,  and  a  network  of 
streets  and  roads  extending  over  fourteen  square  miles,  with 
the  certainty  that  the  reefs  would  not  be  worked  out  for  a 
hundred  years,  it  seemed  absurd  to  maintain  any  longer  the 
theory  and  conditions  of  a  raining  camp.  Yet  on  this  point 
Pretoria  was  obdurate,  and  the  determination  appeared  to  be 
that  no  measure  of  self-government  was  ever  to  be  allowed 
to  it.  The  President  declared  that  the  sole  object  of  those 
who  desired  the  establishment  of  a  municipality  was  to  erect 
a  State  of  their  own  within  the  Republic,  and  so  Johannes- 
burg was  permitted  only  to  have  a  Sanitary  Board  with  such 
limited  powers  as  would  enable  it  to  clear  some  of  the  dirt 
from  the  undrained  town.  The  police  were  a  semi-military 
government  force,  the  magistrates  or  landrosts  were  govern- 
ment officials ;  and  everything  connected  with  the  town,  even 
to  the  proper  scale  of  cab  fares,  had  to  come  before  the 
Executive  Council  of  the  Republic. 

Barnato  strongly  desired  to  see  a  full  measure  of  local 
government  granted.  He  looked  forward  to  the  time  when 
Johannesburg  should  have  its  own  mayor,  aldermen,  and 
councillors,  quite  on  the  English  plan ;  but  he  never  asked 
for  it,  never  even  in  the  most  general  terms,  in  his  Pretoria 
conversations,  hinted  at  the  desirability  of  such  a  thing. 

"  If  Johannesburg  keeps  quiet,""  he  said,  "  all  will  come 
right  in  time.  Some  day  the  Executive  Council  will  tire  of 
having  under  consideration  for  two  years  a  scale  of  cab 
.charges,  or  the  exact  procedure  which  the  police  are  to 
adopt  towards  street  gambling  booths  and  houses  of  ill-fame. 
Then  they  will  forget  their  fears  of  a  rival  State,  and  perhaps 
give  wider  powers  than  any  other  country  in  the  world  has 
yet  delegated.  To  wony  and  agitate  for  municipal  govern- 
jment   yet  is  to   defeat  the  very  object   aimed   at,  for  the 


PRESIDENT  AND  FINANCIER  143 

Pretoria  suspicions  that  some  other  and  very  different  designs 
are  in  contemplation  are  thereby  strengthened." 

After  the  turmoil  of  the  Raid  was  over,  after  sentences 
had  been  delivered  and  duly  commuted,  and  when  the  angry 
feelings  had  subsided,  Barnato  made  his  peace-offering — a 
pair  of  white  stone  lions  to  ornament  the  stoep  and  entrance 
of  the  Pretoria  White  House.  The  lion  is  an  important 
figure  in  the  Transvaal  coat  of  arms,  and  the  President,  much 
pleased  at  the  gift,  very  graciously  accepted  it.  A  recent 
photograph  shows  him  on  the  stoep,  his  customary  Hall  of 
Audience,  with  a  lion  showing  on  each  side.  He  may  remem- 
ber, comfortably  seated  there  now,  in  the  cool  peacefulness 
of  the  South  African  early  mornings,  that  they  were  the  gift 
of  a  man  who  knew  and  appreciated  all  the  difficulties  he 
has  encountered,  who  foresaw  many  of  those  to  come,  and 
who  was  never  impatient  because  the  quondam  farmer  did 
not  move  and  decide  as  rapidly  as  the  acutest  of  business 
men. 


CHAPTER  X 
DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE   RAND 

Barnato's  position — Advancing  the  railways — ^Johannesburg  1892 
— Meeting  waterworks  shareholders — A  specimen  of  his  work — 
The  Consolidated  Investment  Company — The  rarest  success 
of  all 

Barnato  may  not  in  1890  and  thenceforward  have  attained 
quite  the  summit  of  his  ambition,  but  he  was,  with  Rhodes,  a 
dominant  factor  in  South  African  finance  and  an  important 
factor  of  the  London  market.  The  Barnato  millions  were 
not,  however,  entirely  derived  from  the  buying  and  selling  and 
the  general  trading  operations  of  the  most  important  member 
of  the  firm,  even  though  these  included  such  transactions  as 
the  purchase  of  a  parcel  of  diamonds  for  a  million  and  a  half 
of  money.  He  added  to  his  marvellous  ousiness  instinct  and 
capacity  for  figures  a  genius  for  stock  exchange  manipulations, 
which  made  him  the  most  important  operator  in  Kafirs,  until 
no  one  could  hope  to  bring  out  a  new  venture,  no  matter  how 
good  it  might  be,  without  his  help  to  make  the  market.  In 
every  good  thing  he  had  therefore  to  be  considered  and  con- 
sulted, and  let  in,  to  secure  his  help.  The  result  was,  as  he 
himself  frankly  admitted,  that  he  made  more  money  by  aiding 
or  frustrating  the  plans  of  others,  operations  in  which  he 
never  appeared  at  all,  than  by  the  long  years  of  unremitting 
attention  to  his  own  projects.  In  this  connection  he  achieved 
some  remarkable  deals,  and  the  scale  and  apparent  reckless- 
ness of  his  operations  were  such  as  struck  awe  into  more 
ordinary  men.     It  has  before  been  said  of  men  that  all  they- 


DEVELOPMENT   OF  THE   RAND  145 

touched  turned  to  gold  ;  but  it  was  to  no  fabled  converting 
touch  that  he  owed  his  success,  nor,  as  others  phi'ased  it,  to 
"  Barney's  luck,'"'  but  to  the  unsparing,  unceasing  toil  he 
devoted  to  every  detail  of  his  business,  to  his  power  of  con- 
centi'ation,  and  to  his  grasp  of  detail. 

From  this  time  forward  it  was  a  matter  of  business  necessity 
that  he  should  spend  some  months  of  each  year  in  London, 
and  not  merely  come  over  when  he  had  special  business  on 
hand.  South  Africa,  however,  remained  his  home,  his  place 
of  domicile,  as  it  had  been  from  1873  ;  and  every  session  of 
the  Cape  Colony  Parliament  to  the  end  of  his  life  found  him 
in  his  place  in  the  House  of  Assembly  as  the  senior  member 
for  Kimberley,  even  though  he  did  not  sit  out  unimportant 
debates  in  which  neither  he  nor  his  constituents  had  the  least 
interest,  and  never  aspired  to  head  the  divisions  list. 

In  the  negotiations  during  1891  and  1892,  which  resulted 
in  an  agreement  concluded  by  Sir  James  Sivewright  on  behalf 
of  the  Cape  Colony  with  the  Transvaal  Government  for  the 
extension  of  the  Cape  Colony  main  railway  line  to  the  Rand 
and  Pretoria,  Barnato  played  an  important  part.  The  Presi- 
dent was  strongly  opposed  to  any  railway  connection  with  the 
Cape  Colony  at  all,  and  at  any  rate  insisted  on  his  own  pet 
enterprise,  the  Delagoa  Bay  line,  which  did  not  touch  British 
territory,  being  first  carried  through.  But  Barnato's  strong 
Pretoria  influence  was  wholly  used  to  support  Sivewright's 
bland  persuasions,  and  resulted  in  an  agreement  being  arrived 
at,  under  which  the  railway  connection  was  first  made  with 
Pretoria,  and  then  a  branch  line  was  laid  to  Johannesburg. 
On  the  Rand  the  anival  of  the  first  locomotive  was  an  occa- 
sion of  great  rejoicing,  for  the  days  of  the  ox  waggon  were 
regarded  as  past.  It  was  not  until  July  1895  that  the 
Delagoa  Bay  line  finally  reached  Pretoria ;  and  a  few  months 
later  the  last  bolt  of  the  line  connecting  Natal  with  the 
Transvaal  was  also  screwed  home,  thus  completing  three  rail- 
ways to  the  sea. 

In  November  1892,  after  Sivewrighfs  railway  agreement 

K 


146  B.   I.   BARNATO 

had  been  finally  carried  through,  Barnato  arrived  in  England, 
and  in  an  interview  with  a  representative  of  the  Financial 
News  made  the  following  statement : 

"  Everything  in  the  position  and  outlook  in  the  Transvaal 
was  very  bright  when  I  left  there  a  month  ago,  and  I  attri- 
bute this,  to  some  extent,  to  the  arrangement  between  the 
Transvaal  Government  and  Sir  James  Sivewright,  the  present 
Commissioner  of  Crown  Lands,  whereby  direct  railway  com- 
munication between  the  Cape  Colony  and  Johannesburg  has 
been  established.  By  this  union  of  interests  the  friction 
which  hitherto  existed  is  wiped  out.  The  loan  brought  out 
by  Messrs.  Rothschild  has  also  improved  the  financial  con- 
dition of  the  Transvaal,  and  given  the  general  public  more 
confidence.  As  far  as  the  permanence  of  the  gold-mining 
industry  is  concerned,  that  is  guaranteed.  It  has  taken  time 
to  put  down  stamps  and  machinery  and  secure  good  manage- 
ment. The  companies  are  now  getting  the  benefit  of  this 
preliminary  work.  The  Rand  is  one  of  the  greatest  goldfields 
the  world  has  ever  seen,  and  its  position  is  unequalled.  Thei'e 
is  plenty  of  coal  and  water  on  the  spot,  the  climate  is  healthy, 
they  have  direct  railway  communication  with  the  coast,  and 
as  to  economical  mining,  it  has  been  proved  that  in  some 
cases  a  profit  can  be  made  out  of  a  yield  of  only  5  dwts.  of 
gold  per  ton. 

"  The  September  output  of  gold,  107,850  oz.,  was  cer- 
tainly not  a  specially  engineered  flash  in  the  pan,  as  you  seem 
to  suggest.  Two  years  ago,  when  the  monthly  output  was 
a  little  over  40,000  oz.,  I  predicted  that  it  would  reach  in 
another  two  years  100,000  oz.,  and  I  am  glad  to  see  that 
my  prophecy  has  come  true.  To-day,  considering  that  in 
some  cases  the  deeper  the  mines  go  the  richer  the  ore,  and 
with  the  extra  yield  from  the  cyanide  process  of  treating 
tailings,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  expressing  my  opinion  that 
in  another  two  years  the  monthly  output  will  be  nearer 
200,000  oz..  or  close  upon  ^^8,000,000  a  year. 

"  You  ask  what  Johannesburg  looks  like  now.     The  best 


DEVELOPMENT   OF  THE   RAND  147 

proof  of  the  permanence  of  Johannesburg  is  its  suburbs,  which 
might  be  compared  to  Sydenham.  The  houses  that  are  being 
built  are  very  different  to  what  were  put  up  in  the  early  days. 
The  private  houses  now  being  erected,  for  which  there  is  a 
demand,  cost  from  .^PIOOO  to  ^4000  each. 

"  I  am  equally  confident  about  the  diamond  industry.  The 
position  of  the  De  Beers  Company  was  never  stronger  than  it 
is  to-day.  The  demand  for  diamonds  is  greater  than  the 
production,  and  the  prices  are  as  high  as  ever  they  were. 
The  resources  of  the  company  are  being  strengthened  by 
increasing  its  holding  of  Consols  and  other  Government 
securities,  while  its  debentures  are  being  redeemed  and  the 
Wesselton  Mine  has  been  paid  for  out  of  profits." 

During  the  months  of  Barnato''s  absence,  there  had  been 
much  anxiety  amongst  the  Home  shareholders  as  to  the 
position  and  prospects  of  the  AVaterworks  Company.  A 
special  meeting  was  therefore  now  called  to  hear  statements 
made  both  by  Sir  James  Sivewright  and  Bamato,  and  was 
held  at  Winchester  House  on  November  23,  with  W.  Garland 
Soper,  chairman  of  the  London  directorate  of  the  Company, 
in  the  chair.  There  had  been  plenty  of  people  ready  to 
discredit  the  prospects  of  the  Company,  and  there  is  no 
question  but  that  the  shareholders  gathered  together  in  a 
frame  of  mind  decidedly  hostile,  especially  to  Barnato.  Sir 
James  Sivewright  spoke  first  and  at  considerable  length. 
Then  Barnato  rose,  with  the  small  pieces  of  paper  in  his 
hand  which  sufficed  him  for  the  most  lengthy  and  elaborate 
statements : 

"  Mr.  Chairman,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen, — I  think  I  can  add 
little  after  the  able  and  eloquent  speech  you  have  listened  to 
from  my  friend  Sir  James  Sivewright.  Still,  I  may  place 
before  you  a  few  facts  as  far  as  the  internal  work  of  the 
Company,  with  which  my  friend  is  not  so  intimately 
acquainted  as  I  am.  Gentlemen,  like  my  friend  here,  I  am 
prepared  to  bury  the  dead  and  let  sleeping  dogs  lie ;  still,  at 
the  same  time,  I  shall  never  forget  the  part  I  have  played  in 


148  B.   I.   BARNATO 

the  past,  and  now  a  few  words  in  reference  to  the  future  of 
this  Company.  My  friend  Sir  James  stated  this  afternoon 
that  he  was  the  original  founder  of  this  Company.  In  that 
foundation  I  had  only  a  very  small  part,  but  I  claim  to  have 
had  a  very  great  interest  in  your  Company  since,  for  it  has 
been  a  baby  that  I  have  nursed ;  and  I  am  proud  to  say  I 
nursed  it  throughout  the  whole  of  its  sickness,  and  it  was  at 
one  time  very  sick  indeed.  I  had  to  meet  you  on  a  certain 
occasion  once  before,  and  I  may  say  that  most  men — men 
with  a  less  determined  spirit  than  I  have — would  have 
avoided  that  occasion,  knowing  as  I  did  that  it  was  a  time  of 
trouble.  When  I  came  home  to  London  last  time,  my  friend 
Mr.  Soper,  the  present  Chairman  of  the  London  Committee, 
prevailed  upon  me  to  address  the  I^ndon  shareholders,  and 
to  meet  them  face  to  face.  Well,  I  will  tell  you  candidly, 
circumstances  had  then  arisen  in  South  Africa  which  en- 
dangered our  estate,  our  property  was  more  or  less  in  a  state 
of  liquidation,  and  I  was  not  very  anxious  to  meet  you  ;  in 
fact,  our  shares  stood  at  a  price  that  would  have  made  few 
men  anxious  to  meet  a  body  of  London  shareholders  in  a 
Company  on  the  verge  of  liquidation.  Indeed,  my  own 
brother,  the  senior  partner  in  the  firm,  when  I  told  him  that 
I  was  going  to  address  the  London  shareholders,  said : 
*  What  case  have  you  got — what  can  you  tell  them  't  "*  I 
said  :  '  We  have  a  very  fine  property,  a  brilliant  property, 
and  although  Johannesburg  is  not  very  bright  to-day,  I  am 
satisfied  that  our  future  prospects  will  look  bright  one  day.*" 
Still,  my  brother  was  so  sceptical  of  the  reception  I  was  likely 
to  receive  that  he  took  a  trip  to  Brighton.  What  was  the 
result  .'*  I  came  here  when  there  were  something  like  600  or 
700  ladies  and  gentlemen  present.  I  boldly  addressed  you. 
Certain  questions  were  asked  me,  and  I  told  you  I  had  gieat 
belief  in  the  future  of  the  Transvaal.  I  warned  you  that  we 
had  to  contend  against  rival  companies,  and,  consequently,  to 
some  extent  we  had  gone  a  little  out  of  our  depth,  and  so  we 
had.     We  had  boiTOwed  money  when  our  credit  was  good, 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE   RAND  149 

for  the  banks  knew  we  were  a  fine  Company,  and  thev 
acivanced  certain  money  ;  but,  unfortunately,  a  cloud,  came 
over  Johannesburg,  and  the  banks  called  upon  us  without 
any  notice  for  this  money.  To  show  you  what  confidence  I 
had  in  the  Company,  I  advanced  the  sum  of  ^^30,000  before 
that  meeting;  and  when  I  met  the  shareholders,  and  was 
asked  what  I  thought  of  the  future,  I  told  them  that 
although  our  Company  was  almost  in  liquidation,  and  our 
estate  was  in  danger,  I  would,  if  they  gave  me  time,  go  out  to 
South  Africa,  and  wipe  away  all  these  troubles.  I  went  out 
to  Johannesburg,  and  saw  Mr.  Bezuidenhout,  the  owner  of 
the  farm,  and  went  into  all  these  matters  with  him,  telling 
him  ours  was  not  a  gold  company  or  a  speculative  one,  but 
that  it  was  formed  of  people  who  were  satisfied  to  receive  a 
certain  amount  of  interest.  I  placed  the  case  before  him,  and 
said :  '  Now  what  will  you  take  to  withdraw  all  litigation  ; 
how  much  will  you  take  for  your  estate  ? ""  Well,  I  think 
you  will  admit  that  I  am  a  man  of  some  little  business 
capacity,  and  after  going  over  the  whole  question  with  Mr. 
Bezuidenhout,  I  purchased  the  freehold  of  the  whole  of 
Doornfontein." 

Having  shown  his  auditors  a  picture  of  Doornfontein,  Mr. 
Barnato  continued :  "  That  is  only  a  portion  of  our  property, 
and  I  bought  that,  which  is  now  one  of  the  largest  suburbs  of 
Johannesburg.  It  is  within  a  mile  of  the  centre  of  the  town, 
and  is  what  you  may  call  the  Belgravia  of  Johannesburg.  I 
purchased  this  property,  and  it  was  confirmed  afterwards  by 
the  London  Committee,  whom  I  had  promised  before  I  left 
London  to  do  all  that  I.  could  to  settle  the  litigation  hanging 
over  our  heads  ;  but  I  could  not  purchase  the  property  unless 
it  was  confirmed  by  the  Board,  and  I  feared,  when  it  was 
known  Mr.  Barnato  was  about  to  purchase  Doornfontein  from 
Mr.  Bezuidenhout,  the  price  of  the  property  might  go  up. 
However,  I  went  and  saw  Mr.  Bezuidenhout,  and  you  can 
understand  what  time,  what  labour,  and  what  awful  anxiety 
it  gave  me ;  because  I   promised  you,  when  I  addressed  you 


150  B.   I.   BARNATO 

(for  I  felt  my  personal  reputation  was  at  stake),  that  I  would, 
apart  from  an\'  personal  interest  I  had  in  the  property,  put 
this  Company  in  a  sound  financial  position.  I  have  done  so, 
and  I  am  proud  to  say  to-day  it  is  one  of  the  most  prosperous 
Companies  in  Johannesburg.  Now,  gentlemen,  let  me  revert 
to  the  question  of  the  purchase  of  this  Doornfontein  property. 
I  saw  that  it  was  in  the  interest  of  the  Company  to  purchase 
this  property,  and  I  bought  it  for  d^l 2,500,  although  I  was 
prepared,  on  my  own  responsibility,  to  give  ^25,000.  This 
property  is  bringing  in  an  annual  rental  of  =£'3546,  and  we 
have  the  reversionary  right  for  thirty-six  years.  Although 
the  value  of  property  in  Johannesburg  was  at  that  time 
very  low,  the  estimated  value  of  the  buildings  on  that 
property  was  something  like  dCl  50,000,  which  I  am  proud 
to  say  I  succeeded  in  purchasing  for  =£"12,000.  Now, 
gentlemen,  I  need  hardly  tell  you  the  value  of  that  property 
to-day.  It  was  worth,  when  I  purchased  it,  d£^l  50,000,  and 
Old  Doornfontein  to-day,  in  my  humble  opinion,  is  worth 
three  times  that,  for  property  has  increased  in  value  ever 
since.  We  have  now  the  reversionary  rights  for  thirtv-four 
years,  and  I  think  I  am  well  within  the  mark,  considering  we 
are  receiving  a  rental  of  close  on  c£'4000  per  annum  for  ground 
rents  alone,  in  saying  that  this  property  almost  equals  in 
value  the  whole  of  our  capital.  Ladies  and  gentlemen,  let 
me  remind  you  that  the  whole  of  our  capital  is  only 
cf  200,000,  and  we  supply  with  water  a  population  of  40,000 
people,  and  our  present  income  is  close  on  ,£'40,000  a  year, 
and  after  deducting  all  expenses  for  last  year  our  profits  were 
over  ^0,000. 

*'  I  don''t  think  I  shall  distress  you  to-day  by  going  into 
any  question  of  figures,  but  I  am  pleased  to  say  that  whilst 
our  revenue  is  increasing  our  expenses  are  decreasing.  Our 
report  and  balance-sheet  are  only  made  up  to  June  30,  and 
since  then  the  outlook  has  continued  to  improve.  Sir  James 
Sivewright  has  pointed  out  to  you  that  the  plantation  and 
township  stand  in  the  balance-sheet  at  something  like  £5656. 


DEVELOPMENT   OF  THE   RAND  151 

Now,  gentlemen,  this  is  a  new  feature  in  our  Company,  and  I 
may  tell  you  candidly  that  I  was  not  acquainted  with  the 
fact  that  we  had  such  a  valuable  asset  until  I  went  to 
Johannesburg  on  this  last  visit — the  town  has  developed  and 
gone  ahead  at  such  a  rapid  pace.  I  myself  found  this  plan- 
tation, and  this  township  was  very  close  to  the  town  itself — 
within  three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  the  centre  of  the  town. 
Sir  James  said  he  did  not  think  Mr,  Barnato  would  sell  it  for 
four  times  what  it  was  valued  at  in  the  balance-sheet.  I 
question  very  much  whether  the  Board  would  look  with 
favour  on  an  offer  of  ten  times  that  amount,  and  when  I  have 
quoted  to  you  a  few  figures,  I  think  you  will  endorse  that 
statement. 

"  The  plantation  has  been  marked  out  as  a  township  by 
our  manager,  and  I  think,  at  least,  we  can  put  it  that  it  is 
200  acres  within  three-quarters  of  a  mile  of  the  centre  of 
Johannesburg,  which  could  be  divided  into  1000  stands,  with 
beautiful  trees,  and  it  is  one  of  the  healthiest  parts  of 
Johannesburg.  We  have  had  numerous  applications  to  sell 
the  stands,  and  there  are  those  who  think  we  should  do  so 
now.  I  differ,  because  I  have  just  as  exalted  an  opinion  as 
my  honourable  friend  as  to  their  value,  because  Johannesburg 
is  not  on  the  decline,  but  on  the  rapid  increase ;  and,  consi- 
dering that  we  anticipate  a  population  of  100,000  people 
within  a  few  years,  I  do  think  it  would  be  unwise  to  sell  the 
stands  for  a  paltry  amount  at  once  when  within  a  year  or 
eighteen  months  the}'  would  be  worth  double  or  treble  that 
amount.  Now,  gentlemen,  I  will  give  you  my  reasons.  We 
have  about  1000  stands,  and  they  are  worth  something  like 
£25  a  stand.  That  is  taking  a  very  low  value,  and  would 
give  us  i?'25,000  cash.  Those  are  big  figures,  I  know  ;  but  I 
do  not  speak  that  those  here  may  go  away  and  buy  shares. 
I  only  speak  to  those  who  are  in  the  possession  of  shares. 
But  this  £25  per  stand  would  not  mean  the  actual  sale  right 
out.  They  would  be  held  on  what  you  may  call  a  pepper- 
corn lease  for  ninety-nine  yeai's,   and  a  rental   of  10s.  per 


152  B.   I.   BARNATO 

month  would  have  to  be  paid  for  each.  So  that  for  that 
plantation,  which  is  valued  in  the  balance-sheet  at  ^^5656, 
you  could  get  dt^25,000  ;  and  further,  each  stand  would  bear  a 
rental  of  10s.  per  month,  equal  for  every  stand  to  £6  per 
annum,  or  something  like  d£^6000  yearly  rental.  This  is  an 
asset  which  I  believe  might  be  realised  in  twenty-four  hours  ; 
the  stands  could  now  be  sold  at  the  price  mentioned,  but  I 
think  at  no  distant  date  they  would  realise  double  that 
amount.  That  is  an  asset  with  which  Sir  James  Sivewright 
is  not  so  intimately  acquainted  as  I  am,  but  it  is  a  matter 
in  which  I  have  taken  a  great  interest,  and  as  far  as  land  is 
concerned  our  property  is  worth  more  than  the  whole  capital 
of  the  Company. 

"As  regards  the  water,  we  have  something  like  seventy 
miles  of  pipes  laid,  and  they  supply  a  town  which  to-day  has 
something  like  40,000  inhabitants.  That  there  should  be 
occasional  complaints  is  only  natural.  I  don't  think  I  can 
say  anything  more,  as  I  have  just  gone  over  the  whole  matter. 
I  can  only  refer  to  the  directorate.  We  have  lost  the  invalu- 
able assistance  of  Sir  James  Sivewright,  who  has  given  you 
some  knowledge  of  the  difficulties  we  have  had  to  contend 
with  in  the  past ;  but  I  may  tell  you,  although  we  have  lost 
the  services  of  one  Colonial  Minister,  we  have  obtained  those 
of  another  in  the  Hon.  Jno.  Tudhope,  late  Colonial  Secretary, 
so  that  it  would  almost  seem  as  if  our  Company  had  some 
magnetic  attractions  for  Colonial  Ministers.  We  have  the 
late  manager  of  the  Bank  of  Africa — Mr.  J.  H.  Abel — and  I 
am  also  one  of  your  Directors,  and  I  think  I  have  given  some 
service  to  the  Company.  (Hear,  hear.)  I  wish  you,  too,  to 
recognise  what  the  London  Directors  have  done,  and  I  can 
only  say  that  Mr.  Soper,  Dr.  Gibbon,  Colonel  Fife,  Mr.  W. 
S.  Watson,  and  Mr.  Honey,  have  worked  in  perfect  harmony 
with  the  Johannesburg  Board.  I  shall  not  detain  you  any 
further,  but  I  can  only  confirm  what  I  said  when  I  met  the 
shareholders  in  Johannesburg;  that  they  have  reason  to 
congratulate  themselves  upon  the  financial  position  of  the 


DEVELOPMENT   OF  THE   RAND  153 

Company,  and  I  honestly  and  conscientiously  believe  the 
Johannesburg  Waterworks  Estates  and  Exploration  Company 
is  one  of  the  safest  and  soundest  investments  in  the  Transvaal 
Republic."     (Much  applause.) 

I  would  not  have  it  understood  by  any  to  whom  the  course 
of  South  African  business  has  not  been  familiar,  that  from 
the  considerable  space  I  have  devoted  to  the  Waterworks 
Company  in  this  memoir,  it  is  to  be  gathered  that  Bamato 
gave  less  care  and  attention  to  his  other  concerns  than  to  this. 
Most  of  his  other  companies  were  far  wealthier  than  this, 
from  the  majority  he  derived  a  far  gi'eater  profit,  and  to 
every  one  he  gave  such  continued  attention  and  careful 
management  as  would  have  demanded  from  almost  any  other 
man  his  whole  time.  The  Waterworks  Company,  however, 
he  regarded  with  special  affection  from  the  circumstances, 
already  detailed  in  his  own  words,  under  which  he  had  first 
assumed  the  control ;  it  was  the  company  on  which  he  was 
for  years  most  persistently  attacked  by  the  promoters  of  rival 
schemes,  and  I  have  therefore  selected  it  as  an  example  of  his 
work  and  of  his  "  thoroughness."'  One  more  quotation  from 
a  speech  delivered  by  him  fifteen  months  later  in  London,  at 
another  specially  called  shareholders'"  meeting,  after  another 
South  African  visit,  and  I  have  done  with  it.  The  meeting 
was  held  at  Winchester  House  in  March  1894,  with  Garland 
Soper  again  in  the  chair ;  and  it  was  described  in  the  report 
of  the  Financial  News  as  "  an  informal  meeting  called  for  the 
purpose  of  hearing  a  statement  from  Mr.  Bamato,  M.L.A., 
who  has  just  returned  from  South  Africa.'"'  The  speech  was 
reported  in  the  same  journal  as  follows : 

"  Mr.  B.  I.  Bamato,  who  was  received  with  cheers,  expressed 
the  pleasure  it  afforded  him  to  come  before  the  shareholders 
in  order  to  give  them  an  exposition  and  an  explanation  of 
the  affairs  of  the  Company,  the  more  so  in  view  of  the  per- 
sistent manner  in  which  it  had  lately  been  attacked  in  certain 
(j[uarters.  He  was  glad,  in  the  first  instance,  to  be  able  to 
tell  them  that  the  Company  was  in  an  absolutely  safe  position, 


154  B.   I.   BARNATO 

and  that  there  was  not  the  slightest  reason  for  any  fear  or 
alarm  on  the  part  of  any  of  the  shareholders.  Addressing 
them  fifteen  months  ago,  he  told  them  that  the  Company 
was  on  a  thoroughly  sound  and  solid  basis,  and  formed  one 
of  the  best  investments  in  South  Africa ;  and  he  was  now 
able  to  tell  them  that  what  had  occurred  since  that  time 
enabled  him  to  more  than  confirm  the  opinion  he  then 
expressed.  Alluding  to  the  absence  of  Sir  James  Sivewright 
(the  late  Chairman  of  the  Company),  he  explained  that  the 
reason  for  his  resignation  of  office  was  due  to  his  having 
accepted  an  appointment  in  the  Cape  Ministry ;  but  he  had 
recently  written  to  him  (the  speaker)  stating  that  he  had 
largely  increased  his  holding  in  the  Company,  in  which  he  still 
took  a  warm  interest,  and  which  had  his  entire  confidence. 

"  Proceeding,  Mr.  Bamato  remarked  that  the  Johannesburg 
Waterworks  Company  was  one  of  his  babies.  He  had  a  gi-eat 
many  babies  in  South  Africa.  (I^aughter.)  One  bore  his 
name,  and  some  did  not.  (Renewed  laughter.)  But  this 
particular  baby  of  his  was  the  one  he  cherished  most,  and  in 
the  future  of  which  he  had  the  greatest  confidence.  In  order 
to  show  the  steady  progi-ess  which  had  been  made  by  the 
Company,  he  pointed  out  that  the  profits  in  1891  were 
<£*17,450  and  in  1892  ^21,000,  while  last  year  their  revenue 
showed  an  increase  of  =£'9,000.  Although  he,  in  common 
with  the  other  directoi-s,  regi'etted  that  they  were  unable  to 
pay  a  higher  dividend  than  the  6  per  cent.,  he  pointed  out 
that  it  was  impossible,  for  obvious  reasons,  that  a  higher 
dividend  could  have  been  declared. 

"  One  difficulty  they  had  had  to  encounter  had  been  a  claim 
made  in  respect  of  alleged  infringement  on  their  part  of 
certain  riparian  rights  on  the  Yokeskey  River.  As  they 
regarded  their  water  rights  as  being  their  most  valuable  pro- 
perty, they  did  not  hesitate  to  go  to  some  expense  in  fighting 
the  claim  made  against  them,  with  the  result  that  in  the  end 
they  were  successful.  They  had  since  then  made  such  exten- 
sions in  their  reservoirs  that  they  were  able  to  supply  the 


DEVELOPMENT   OF  THE   RAND  155 

whole  of  the  requirements  of  the  town,  and  further  extensions 
were  in  progress  with  a  view  to  conserving  sufficient  water  to 
meet  any  unforeseen  contingency  such  as  might  be  entailed 
by  a  severe  and  lengthy  drought.  He  was  glad  to  be  able  to 
say  that,  in  spite  of  all  this  increased  expenditure  with  a  view 
to  increasing  the  efficiency  of  the  Company,  they  did  not 
intend  to  ask  the  shareholders  for  another  single  sixpence  in 
the  way  of  a  call.  More  than  that,  he  hoped  that  at  their 
next  annual  meeting  they  would  be  in  a  position  to  declare 
an  increased  dividend.  It  was  possible  that  in  making  that 
statement  he  would  be  accused  of  having  come  there  simply  for 
the  purpose  of  booming  the  shares  of  the  Company.  Nothing 
was  further  from  his  thoughts  ;  his  onl}-  desire  was  to  place 
before  the  shareholders  the  true  facts  relating  to  the  Com- 
pany, and  to  dissipate  the  alarmist  rumours  which  had  been 
assiduously  circulated  by  certain  parties,  which,  he  was  sorry 
to  say,  had  in  some  cases  the  effect  of  causing  some  timid 
shareholders  to  get  rid  of  their  holdings.  How  far  they 
were  justified  in  that  action  might  be  judged  by  the  fact 
that  he  made  bold  to  say  that  if  the  whole  of  the  assets  of 
the  Company  were  li(|uidated  to-day  every  sovereign  invested 
in  the  Company  would  realise  40s. 

"  Of  course,  he  was  far  from  saying  that  their  water  rights 
included  the  whole  of  their  assets.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  not 
the  least  valuable  of  their  assets  was  their  land  rights.  Some 
years  back  he  was  fortunate  enough  to  buy  the  freehold  pro- 
perty of  Doornfontein,  which  was  a  suburb  of  Johannesburg, 
and  situated  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  centre  of  the 
town,  for  0^12,500.  The  property  built  on  that  estate  was 
now  worth  between  .£700,000  and  ^^800,000,  and  the  annual 
income  received  by  the  Company,  and  derivable  from  ground 
rents,  was  ^£"6000.  The  leases  on  the  property  built  there 
expired  in  thirty-three  yeai-s""  time,  and  in  the  ordinary  course 
of  events  the  reversionary  rights  to  that  property  would  come 
to  the  shareholders.  Some  representations  had  been  made  to 
him  by  the  people  resident  there,  urging  the  Company  to 


156  B.   I.   BARNATO 

extend  the  leases,  and  that  was  a  matter  which  would  be  settled 
by  arbitration ;  so  that,  in  addition  to  their  valuable  water 
rights,  they  had  in  Doornfontein  a  very  fine  landed  property, 
bringing  in  £6000  per  annum,  with  valuable  reversionary 
rights. 

"  He  had  also  bought,  on  behalf  of  the  Company,  another 
estate,  called  the  Berea  Estate,  which  formed  another  suburb 
of  the  town.  So  far,  they  had  not  received  anything  in  the 
way  of  rents  from  that  estate,  although  they  had  spent  some 
money  in  fitting  up  a  park  and  making  it  in  every  way  a 
desirable  residential  neighbourhood.  They  had  parcelled  out 
the  estate  into  about  1000  stations  or  stands,  and  he  thought 
that  now  the  time  was  ripe  for  selling  those  stations  either  by 
tender  or  by  auction.  He  estimated  the  minimum  value  of 
each  of  these  stands  at  £25,  at  which  price  he  was  quite 
prepared  to  invest  in  them  himself;  and,  therefore,  they  had 
property  there  which  would  bring  them  in  a  lump  sum  of 
^-"25,000,  and  from  which  they  might  very  safely  reckon  on 
having  an  annual  ground  rental  of  i^GOOO.  He  thought, 
therefore,  they  might  very  safely  conclude  that  they  had 
good  sound  value  for  the  money  they  had  invested  in  the 
Company.  And  now  he  came  to  what  seemed  at  one  time  a 
crucial  point  in  their  history,  and  that  was  the  floating  of  a 
rival  scheme.  He  had  no  hesitation  in  saying  now,  what  he 
had  said  at  the  time,  that  the  whole  affair  was  a  bogey. 
Their  rivals  took  advantage  of  a  time  when  the  water  supply 
of  the  Company  was,  he  confessed,  somewhat  inadequate  to 
meet  the  demands  made  upon  it.  They  purchased  for  a  very 
small  sum  a  concession  for  a  water  supply  some  forty-eight 
miles  from  Johannesburg,  which  they  tried  to  sell  to  the 
sanitary  board  of  the  town  for  i?7000 ;  but  he  managed  to 
start  an  agitation,  in  the  course  of  which  he  pointed  out  that 
while  the  people  of  Johannesburg  were  only  paying  ^£'36,000 
for  their  present  water  supply,  the  new  scheme,  if  adopted, 
would  cost  them  dC*!  20,000  per  annum  ;  and  so  successful  was 
he  that  the  new  scheme  was  killed,  and  an  impromptu  collec- 


DEVELOPMENT   OF  THE   RAND  157 

tion  made  amongst  the  merchants  and  property-owners  of  the 
town  secured  the  sum  of  d£*3000  with  which  to  decently  bury 
it.  But,  as  he  said,  the  whole  thing  was  a  bogey  from 
beginning  to  end,  and,  to  his  mind,  in  fighting  it  they  were 
very  much  in  the  position  of  killing  a  flea  with  a  Gatling 
gun. 

"  He  attached  no  importance — and  he  asked  them  to  attach 
no  importance — to  any  rival  scheme  that  might  be  floated  ; 
for  the  Johannesburg  Waterworks  Company  occupied  an 
absolutely  unassailable  position.  In  addition  to  having  an 
ample  storage  of  water,  sufficient  to  meet  the  requirements  of 
the  whole  town,  they  were,  as  he  said,  engaged  in  erecting 
further  reservoirs  with  a  view  to  being  able  to  meet  any 
possible  contingency.  Moreover,  they  had  exclusive  rights 
for  supplying  nearly,  if  not  quite,  the  whole  of  the  Johannes- 
burg suburbs,  and  even  if  a  new  company  were  ever  success- 
fully started,  it  could  only  obtain  the  right  to  supply  the 
few  shops  and  warehouses  in  the  city,  which  took  very  little 
or  no  water.  The  Company  occupied,  he  assured  them,  an 
absolutely  secure  position,  from  which  nobody  could  dislodge 
it.  Their  revenue  was  steadily  increasing.  It  was  a  matter 
of  satisfaction  to  him  to  be  able  to  tell  them  that  during  the 
last  six  months — from  July  of  last  year — their  revenue  was 
<£*30,290,  and  their  gross  profits  .£'19,080,  or  more  than 
50  per  cent,  over  the  profits  of  the  corresponding  period  of 
the  previous  year ;  which  was  equal,  after  paying  the  deben- 
ture interest,  to  close  on  15  per  cent,  on  the  Company ""s 
capital. 

"  It  had  been  stated  that  the  object  of  his  visit  to  London 
was  to  make  a  further  call  for  capital.  He  assured  them  that 
there  was  absolutely  no  necessity,  in  view  of  the  facts  he  had 
stated,  for  such  a  proceeding.  He  went  farther,  and  said 
that  there  was  no  concern  in  the  whole  of  the  Transvaal 
making  such  profits  as  they  were  making  with  so  small  a 
-capital.  Since  the  formation  of  the  Company,  =£^160,000  had 
i>een  spent ;  but  for  that  money  they  were  able  to  show  very 


158  B.   I.   BARNATO 

valuable  assets.  In  conclusion,  he  asked  them  to  believe  him 
when  he  said  that  it  was  not  his  intention  to  make  a  bullish 
speech.  There  was  no  necessity  for  booming  their  shares. 
Their  intrinsic  value  and  the  intrinsic  value  of  the  property 
were  quite  sufficient  to  commend  them  to  the  investing 
public ;  while  the  extent  of  his  confidence  in  the  concern 
might  be  gathered  from  the  fact  that  never  in  the  history  of 
the  Company  had  he  possessed  so  large  a  holding  of  shares  as 
he  did  at  the  present  time."" 

A  few  days  after  the  delivery  of  this  speech  a  forward  step 
was  taken  with  another  of  the  great  undertakings  of  Bamato 
Brothel's  in  the  increase  of  capital  of  the  Johannesburg  Con- 
solidated Investment  Company.  In  an  earlier  chapter  a 
Johannesburg  welcome  to  the  company  on  its  first  flotation 
in  1889  was  quoted,  and  here  may  be  reprinted  the  London 
welcome  in  the  columns  of  a  leading  financial  journal : 

"  We  have  to  extend  a  welcome  to  a  new  arrival  in  the 
Kafir  circus.  The  Consolidated  Investment  Company,  which 
has  just  declared  a  10  per  cent,  dividend,  and  which  in  all 
respects  appears  to  be  a  flourishing  concern,  has  found  that 
the  field  for  its  operations  is  wider  than  that  permitted  by 
the  present  amount  of  its  available  capital.  ConcuiTently 
therefore  with  an  increase  in  the  latter,  the  suzerain  house 
has  taken  the  opportunity  of  introducing  the  stock  upon  this 
market,  and  in  fact  during  the  week  the  presentation  has 
"been  made  with  some  eclat.  The  capital  of  the  Consolidated 
Investment  Company  has  hitherto  been  ,^175,000.  A 
powerful  syndicate,  composed,  we  undei'stand,  of  some  of 
the  leading  London  and  Paris  financial  houses,  has  been 
formed  to  guarantee  an  additional  issue  of  175,000  shares  at 
par.  The  guarantoi*s  offer  half  of  the  shares  to  present 
shareholders,  reserving  the  balance  for  themselves.  Viewed 
as  a  whole,  the  company ''s  business  in  the  past  has — without 
being  particularly  brilliant — been  of  a  solid,  steady,  and 
satisfactory  character.  During  last  year  nearly  16  per  cent, 
upon  the  capital  of  the  company  was  earned  in  the  way  of 


DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE   RAND  159 

net  profit.  Of  this  12  per  cent,  took  the  form  of  revenue 
from  real  estate  and  building  property.  The  balance  has 
been  earned  by  agency  business,  including  the  secretaryship 
of  a  number  of  companies  under  the  aegis  of  the  Barnato 
people,  and  in  the  way  of  interest  upon  advances  against 
first  mortgage.  But,  in  addition  to  this,  a  more  speculative 
element  has  been  touched  upon  by  the  acquisition  of  a 
number  of  "gi'ound  floor"  interests  in  Mashonaland,  and 
some  good  syndicate  interests  in  mining  properties  in  the 
Johannesburg  district.  The  company  should,  at  any  rate, 
be  well  managed,  seeing  that  its  directors  own  what  are  sup- 
posed to  be  some  of  the  longest  heads  in  South  Africa; 
those,  namely,  of  Sir  James  Sivewright,  the  Hon.  J.  Tudhope 
(late  Colonial  Secretary,  Cape  Colony),  Messrs.  B.  I.  Barnato, 
Woolf  Joel,  Julius  Friedlander,  Charles  Mai-x,  H.  S.  Calde- 
cott,  and  Fred.  A.  English.  The  directors,  we  are  informed, 
are  largely  interested  in  the  concern.  It  is  to  be  hoped  so, 
for  the  fees  for  the  last  half-year  only  amounted  to  cf  40." 

From  the  increase  of  capital  of  this  company  is  really  to  be 
dated  the  last  great  boom  in  Rand  shares,  which  lasted  till  it 
was  summarily  arrested  towards  the  end  of  1895  in  a  manner 
not  to  be  explained  at  the  time ;  but  which,  in  the  light  of 
subsequent  events,  was  unquestionably  the  foreknowledge  of 
coming  revolution  and  raid,  on  the  part  of  certain  financial 
houses  and  individuals.  During  this  boom  time,  the  star  of 
Barnato  was  in  the  ascendant.  At  the  Cape  Colony  general 
elections  of  1894  he  retained  his  position  at  the  head  of  the 
poll,  as  the  senior  member  for  Kimberley,  after  a  stubborn, 
hard-fought  fight.  This  was,  however,  an  ordinary  election 
contest,  conducted  in  a  perfectly  fair  and  open  manner  by 
both  sides,  and  entirely  without  the  importation  of  any 
bitterness  and  personalities,  such  as  rendered  the  1888  elec- 
tion and  victory  noteworthy.  The  progress  of  events  in 
Kimberley  was  watched  with  only  moderate  interest  in  the 
rest  of  South  Africa,  for  no  great  issues  were  involved. 
Woolf  Joel  was  chairman  of  Bamato's  election  committee,. 


160  B.   I.   BARNATO 

and  all  available  ability  was  engaojed  on  what  was  evidently 
the  winning  side. 

Everything  that  Barnato  did  now  was  brilliant  and  suc- 
cessful, he  floated  the  Barnato  Consolidated  Mines  and  the 
Baraato  Bank  ;  and  the  rarest  success  of  all  that  can  attend 
a  millionaire  was  his,  for  his  racehorses  won  races. 


CHAPTER  XI 

PERSONAL   ANECDOTES 

Barnato  the  amateur  actor — His  last  stage  appearance — Racing 
in  South  Africa  and  England — Appreciation  of  actors — The 
choking  of  Arthur  Roberts — An  appreciation  of  Kingsley — J.  R. 
Couper  on  Barnato— No  lingering  death — The  romantic  marriage 
— Against  family  and  faith — Scandalising  Parliament — A  game  of 
billiards — Spoiling  the  spoilers — The  building  of  mansions 

My  task  is  drawing  to  an  end.  Years  ago  Barnato,  at  a 
threatening  time  in  his  own  fortunes,  had  quoted  Richelieu"'s 
words  to  Francois : 

"  Fail !  Fail !  In  the  bright  lexicon  of  youth,  there  is 
no  such  word  as  '  fail/ "" 

With  the  determination  to  know  no  failure  he  had  suc- 
ceeded. 

AVhen  at  the  very  beginning  of  the  campaign  of  life,  Barnato 
decided  that  he  would  be  great;  and  that  to  be  gi'eat,  he 
must  be  popular  and  widely  known.  Amongst  his  many 
other  talents  was  most  certainly  a  very  marked  dramatic 
ability,  which  he  had  to  some  extent  utilised  before  leaving 
England  for  South  Africa.  Arrived  at  Kimberley  he  culti- 
vated his  theatrical  instincts,  as  he  did  his  business  instincts, 
and  with  the  like  object.  Theatrical  companies  were  in  those 
days  few  and  scanty  in  South  Africa,  and  it  soon  became 
known  that  Barney  Barnato  was  a  most  promising  amateur, 
who  was  always  ready  to  furnish  an  extra  turn  on  a  benefit- 
night,  to  take  any  special  character  that  the  stock  company 
could  not  conveniently  fill,  or  to  supply  the  place  of  any 

L 


162  B.   I.   IJARNATO 

member  of  the  company  who  might  be  unwell.  The  audience 
of  diamond  diggere  was  rough,  but  most  critical ;  and  constant 
practice,  with  the  stage  exjierience,  soon  rendered  him  such  a 
passable  actor  that  he  was  always  sure  of  a  cordial  reception 
on  the  boards.  One  character,  indeed,  he  made  his  own  in 
those  early  Kimberley  days,  and  so  long  as  he  was  cast  for 
Matthias  in  "  The  Bells,""  Kimberley  audiences  cared  little 
who  else  filled  the  bill.  I  am  very  glad  to  be  able  to  repro- 
duce here  three  portraits,  all  taken  in  Kimberley  in  1875, 
showing  some  of  his  most  successful  impersonations. 

The  first,  of  Bamato  and  his  friend  Flamberg  in  "  The 
Spitalfields  Weaver,"  or  "  How  are  you.  Brown  ?"  is  particularly 
valuable,  as  being  one  of  the  best  early  portraits  of  him 
extant.  He  was,  at  the  time  it  was  taken,  just  under  twenty- 
three  years  of  age  ;  and  the  easy  unconstrained  position,  with 
the  total  absence  of  any  "make-up,"  displays  to  advantage  his 
fiiTO,  well-knit,  powerful  figure ;  rather  it  might  have  been 
supposed  to  be  one  whose  true  devotion  would  be  paid  to 
athletics,  than  to  business. 

In  the  next  portrait  Barnato  is  made  up  as  the  Admiral 
in  "  Black -Eyed  Susan,"*""  Mr.  Louis  Flamberg  appearing 
as  Lieut.  Pike.  In  this  make-up  there  is  a  strong  resem- 
blance observable  to  the  Barnato  of  the  last  fcAv  months 
of  his  life. 

The  third  portrait,  of  Bamato  alone,  as  the  auctioneer  in 
*'The  Octoroon,""  recalls  a  good  story  of  two  years  later. 
He  was  playing  Jacob  McKlosky  for  a  benefit  in  the  old 
Theatre  Royal,  Kimberley,  and  in  the  auction  scene  was 
holding  the  whole  attention  of  the  house,  all  silent,  spell- 
bound. The  bidding  for  the  octoroon  progi-essed  until  the 
25,000  dollars  call  was  reached,  when  the  impressive  silence 
which  followed  this  fateful  bid  was  broken  by  the  eager, 
excited  voice  of  a  miner  in  the  pit,  who  could  not  repress  his 
agitation  or  stay  to  remember  that  he  was  in  a  theatre  : 

«  ni  bid  26,000  dollars." 

The  man  instantly  slunk  back  ashamed  of  his  enthusiasm, 


To  face  page  162 


PERSONAL  ANECDOTES  163 

and  the  whole  house  roared,  but  the  effect  of  the  scene  was 
utterly  spoiled. 

On  another  occasion  Barnato  wjxs  playing  Othello,  and 
during  the  jealousy  scene  with  lago,  a  well-known  diamond 
broker  and  rival  amateur,  B.  Hart,  seated  in  front,  guyed 
him.  The  Othello  coolly  broke  off  in  his  speech,  and  coming 
to  the  footlights  looked  significantly  at  Hart,  saying  : 

"  Benny  Hart !  Benny  Hart !  You  j  ust  wait  till  I  get 
through  with  this.  I'll  make  you  laugh  on  the  other  side  of 
yom-  mouth."  He  then  coolly  resumed  his  speech.  Barnato 
had  at  that  time  the  reputation  of  being  the  best  amateur 
boxer  in  Kimberley,  and  Hart  did  not  wait.  He  said  he  was 
in  the  habit  of  laughing  on  the  right  side  of  his  mouth,  and 
wasn't  keen  about  trying  the  left. 

HaiTy  Miller,  a  well-known  South  African  "  pro ""  of  the 
early  days,  tells  a  story  how  Barnato,  when  playing  Jem 
Conyers  in  "  Aurora  Floyd,""  came  into  the  dressing-room,  and 
in  the  excitement  of  the  moment  threw  a  1200-cai'at  packet 
of  diamonds  on  the  table.  Then,  forgetting  all  about  the 
diamonds,  went  out,  leaving  them  still  lying  there. 

The  theatrical  habit  clung  to  Barnato  to  the  end  of  his 
life,  and  many  of  his  figures  of  speech  were  derived  from  the 
stage,  one  of  the  best  being  "always  end  with  a  good 
curtain.'*'  His  critics  sometimes  find  fault  with  his  set 
speeches  as  savouring  too  much  of  the  theatre.  I  have  heard 
him  speak  very  many  times,  and  his  oratorical  method  was 
certainly  not  in  the  least  florid  ;  his  voice  was  clear  and 
penetrating,  the  enunciation  of  every  word  was  most  perfect, 
Avhile  he  always  developed  his  argument  and  made  his  points 
with  consummate  ease  and  telling  effect.  There  was  in  all  this 
most  perfect  elocution  and  method,  but  no  evidence  of  what 
is  generally  meant  by  stage  artifice. 

At  Johannesburg  his  first  appearance  on  the  boai^ds  was  for 
the  benefit  of  the  synagogue  building  fund,  as  Bob  Brierly 
in  the  "  Ticket  of  Leave  Man,"  and  on  many  other  occasions 
he  played  for  charities  and  the  benefits  of  actors  and  actresses. 


164  B.   I.   BARNATO 

His  last  performance  was  in  November  1893,  when  he  played 
his  old  favourite  character  of  Matthias  for  the  benefit  of  that 
most  capable  actress,  Miss  Helen  Rous,  then  a  member  of  one 
of  Messre.  Ben  and  Frank  AVheelers''  comedy  companies,  at 
the  Standard  Theatre.  It  was  one  of  the  most  successful 
performances  in  which  he  ever  took  part. 

Of  actors  at  ])resent  on  the  stage,  he  placed  Henry  Irving 
far  and  away  fii*st.  The  fii-st  time  the  two  men  met  the 
conversation  drifted  round  to  Irving''s  initial  performance  of 
Matthias  in  "  The  Bells,"  which  Bamato  witnessed  from  the 
pit. 

"I  remember  I  played  four  characters  that  night,"  said 
Irving, 

"  No,"  said  Barnato  in  his  usual  quick,  impetuous  manner, 
**  you  played  three." 

"  Excuse  me,"  said  Irving,  "  but  surely  you  will  admit  that 
I  ought  to  know." 

"  I  don't  care  whether  you  ought  to  know  or  not,  but  you 
played  three  characters  only ;  and  I  will  give  you,  if  you  like, 
every  entrance  and  exit  you  made  that  night."  Barnato  then 
gave  the  details  of  the  performance,  and  Irving  admitted  that 
he  was  right. 

It  has  already  been  pointed  out  that  Kimberley  people  had 
a  very  high  opinion  of  Barnato  as  Matthias. 

A  verv  well-known  South  African  colonist  was  making  a 
first  visit  to  England,  and  his  friends,  wishing  to  show  him 
all  the  sights,  booked  seats  for  the  Lyceum  on  a  night  when 
Irving  was  reproducing  "The  Bells."  He  was  told  of  this, 
but  said : 

"  Oh,  let  us  go  somewhere  else.  I  have  seen  Baniey 
Barnato  as  Matthias,  and  do  not  want  to  see  any  one  else." 

Barnato  himself  told  this  story  to  Irving,  and  the  gi'eat 
actor  rejoined,  "  Such  is  fame." 

Next  to  Irving,   he  arranged  his  stage   favourites  in  thej 
following  order :   Charles  Wyndham,  Hare,  Boyne,  Coghlan ; 
and  of  the  old  school  in  the  past,  Phelps  and  Creswick.     He 


To  face  page  i6^ 


PERSONAL  ANECDOTES  165 

had  a  very  gi'eat  admiration  for  Arthur  Rol3erts,  who  will 
doubtless  I'emember  an  occasion  when,  after  a  festive 
gathering,  Barnato  and  Roberts,  for  the  amusement  of  the 
party,  contributed  a  spoof  dialogue. 

Bamato  took  the  part  of  the  injured  father,  Arthur 
Roberts  was  the  villain.  The  dialogue  progi'essed  with  great 
spirit  until  the  villain  made  cool,  unblushing  avowal  of  his 
deed.  Then  the  father  rushed  at  him,  and  clutching  him  by 
the  throat  and  shoulders,  nearly  choked  him. 

"  Oh,  come,  Barney,  turn  it  up ! '"  Roberts  jerked  out. 
"If  you  always  play  as  earnestly  as  this  you  can  get  some 
one  else  to  do  villain  to  your  injured  father  next  time." 

Whatever  he  did  was  done  with  his  whole  energy,  and 
this  was  never  better  shown  than  in  his  stage  work,  and  even, 
as  in  this  case,  his  burlesque  stage  work. 

He  was  very  fond  of  sport  of  all  kinds,  and  at  boxing  he 
was  a  proficient.  On  the  Diamond  Fields  he  early  acquired 
a  reputation  among  a  very  rough  crowd  of  being  always  ready 
and  quick  with  his  hands,  and  it  stood  him  in  good  stead. 
He  was  an  early  patron  of  the  late  J.  R.  Couper,  some  time 
champion  of  South  Africa,  and  specially  imported  Bendoft' 
to  match  with  Couper  in  1889.  The  resulting  fight  was  a 
matter  of  seconds  only,  for  Couper  was  an  easy  victor,  and 
won  over  =£7000.  Couper,  too,  another  personal  friend  of  my 
own,  has  died  since  his  patron''s  death,  and  alas,  by  his  own 
hand  ! 

Barnato  was  an  early  and  constant  patron  of  the  turf.  In 
a  country  so  generally  poor  as  South  Africa,  with  such  a  low 
average  of  wealth  among  the  farmers,  it  is  often  a  difficult 
matter  to  keep  the  turf  clubs  afloat,  and  engineer  the  annual 
or  half-yearly  meetings  in  the  smaller  centres  of  population. 
To  these  he  was  always  most  helpful,  and  wherever  race 
meetings  were  held,  and  it  was  possible  for  the  Barnato 
stable  to  be  represented,  his  horses  were  freely  entered  in  aid 
of  sport.  His  English  racing  began  practically  with  the  year 
1895,  when  he  put  a  few  well-selected  horses  in  Joe  Cannon''s 


166  B.   I.   BARNATO 

care  at  the  Heath,  Newmarket,  antl  under  the  supervision  and 
management  of  Lord  Marcus  Beresford.  With  Beggar's 
Opera,  bought  at  the  sale  of  the  late  Duchess  of  Montrose's 
hoi-ses  at  the  back  end  of  1894  for  900  guineas,  he  won  the 
Beaufort  Handicap  at  the  Manchester  Whitsuntide  meeting 
the  season  following.  This  promising  beginning  was  not, 
however,  followed  up,  and  1895-6  passed  away  with  one 
solitary  win  by  the  son  of  Macheath,  who  started  nineteen 
times  unsuccessfully.  In  December  1895  though,  he  bought 
AV'orcester  for  2000  guineas,  and  in  the  spring  of  the  following 
vear  this  son  of  Saraband  and  Elegance  won  for  his  new 
owner  the  City  and  Suburban,  starting  a  9  to  2  favourite  in 
a  field  of  fifteen,  antl  beating  Amandier  by  three  lengths. 
Subsequently,  in  the  same  season,  AVorcester  won  the  Trial 
Stakes  at  Ascot,  the  July  Cup  at  Newmarket,  and  the  South- 
down Plate  at  Brighton.  An  earlier  acquisition  than  Wor- 
cester was  Stowmarket,  A\ho  for  a  whole  season  ^\as  a  failin*e, 
but  last  year  redeemed  himself  by  winning  the  Liverpool 
Spring  Cup  in  the  popular  primrose  colours.  The  Two 
Thousand  Guineas  Trial  Plate,  and  the  Drayton  Welter 
Handicap  at  Goodwood,  turned  out  the  winning  sum  total  of 
Stowmarket's  performances,  out  of  eight  attempts.  Miss 
Prinu'ose  has  so  far  been  the  only  other  of  note  doing  winning 
service  for  the  Barnato  stable.  This  filly,  by  Galopin — 
Orontes  II.,  last  season  as  a  two-year-old  took  the  Caterham 
Plate  at  the  Epsom  Sununer  Meeting,  and  the  Second 
October  Nursery  Stakes  at  Newmarket,  while  this  year  (1897) 
she  won  Earl  Spencer's  Plate  at  Northampton. 

From  his  love  of  the  fistic  art  Barnato  frequently  made 
use  of  Prize  Ring  metaphors  and  figures  of  speech.  One 
moniing  he  wa.s  discussing  with  myself  a  recent  lawsuit 
which  he  had  defended,  and  in  which  a  former  close  friend 
was  jjlaintiflf',  and  he  said  : 

"  If  you  are  going  to  fight,  always  get  in  first  blow.  If  a 
man  is  going  to  hit  you,  hit  him  first  and  say,  '  If  you  try 
that,  I'll  hit  you  again."      It  is  of  no    use  your   standing 


To  face  page  ib6 


PERSONAL  ANECDOTES  167 

off*  and  saying,  '  If  you  hit  me  I'll  hit  you  back/  D'ye 
understand  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  understand,'"  I  answered ;  "  but  you  are  quoting 
Kingsley  in  '  Westward  Ho  ! ' "" 

"  Who  was  Kingsley  and  *  Westward  Ho  ! '  ? '"  he  sharply 
queried. 

After  I  had  explained  and  quoted  the  passage  from  Drake's 
letter  to  Amyas  Leigh,  he  said : 

"  Ah !  I  did  not  know  anything  of  Kingsley,  but  when  he 
wrote  that  he  knew  what  life  was  and  he  was  right  and  I  am 
right,  though  it  is  queer  for  me  to  get  a  supporter  in  one  of 
your  parsons.  If  he  was  a  true  man  he  would  also  have 
to  agree  with  our  law  of  '  an  eye  for  an  eye  and  a  tooth  for  a 
tooth,'  but,  being  a  Christian,  of  course  he  couldn't  do  that. 
Pah  !  never  let  a  man  wrong  you  without  getting  square,  no 
matter  how  long  you  wait ;  and  never  wrong  a  man  if  you  can 
help  it,  because  he  will  wait  his  time  to  get  back  on  you,  and 
at  the  worst  possible  moment.  I  don't  care  whether  it  is  Jew 
or  Gentile,  it  is  all  the  same."  This  conversation  occurred 
during  an  early  morning  drive  about  two  years  ago,  when 
he  had  just  arranged  his  scheme  for  the  flotation  of  the 
Barnato  Consolidated  Mines,  and  was  already  laying  off 
the  lines  on  which  the  Barnato  Banks  were  to  be  constructed 
and  floated. 

Just  a  week  later  he  gave  me  a  very  ominous  signification  of 
the  extent  to  which  the  strain  of  work  was  telling  upon  him.  It 
was  after  the  Sunday  morning  breakfast,  m  hich  had  included  a 
specially  brilliant  gathering  of  the  foremost  Rand  men  and 
visitors.  During;  the  meal  Barnato  had  borne  even  more  than 
his  usual  full  share  of  the  conversation,  but  in  a  hasty,  impetuous 
manner  more  marked  than  usual,  which  caused  many  anxious 
glances  to  be  cast  at  him  by  the  presiding  genius  of  that 
hospitable  board,  his  clever,  amiable,  and  most  beautiful  wife. 
The  meal  ended,  he  drew  me  into  a  small,  very  bare  study, 
opening  from  the  breakfast-room,  and  for  two  houi-s  paced 
incessantly  up  and  down,  talking  of  his  work  and  schemes  for 


168  B.   I.   BARNATO 

the  future,  sedulously  imbibing  all  the  time  very  stift'  long 
whiskies  and  sodas.  The  interview  ended,  so  far  as  related  to 
the  business  part  of  it,  he  began  to  talk  generally,  and 
eventually  the  convei-sation  drifted  round  to  boxing  and  the 
merits  of  Bat  Mullins  as  an  instructor.  Suddenly  Baniato 
turned  to  me  and,  gripping  my  arm  fiercely,  said,  "  D"'ye 
know  what  would  do  me  good  ?  Twenty  minutes  with  the 
gloves  every  morning.  But  I  can't  do  it  now.  I  have  hardly 
time  to  live."'''  A  few  days  later,  and  with  as  sudden  an 
interruption,  he  said,  "  D'ye  know,  there  is  one  thing  I  don't 
like  ?  I  never  felt  my  work  too  much  for  me  before.  I 
could  come  home,  leave  it  all  behind  me,  go  to  bed  and 
forget  it.  I  can't  now.  I  go  to  bed  with  it,  sleep  with  it, 
dream   of  it,  and  wake  u})  with  it.     I  don't  like  it,  I  tell 

you." 

A  few  days  later,  I  discussed  this  with  the  late  J.  R.  Couper, 
and  he  said : 

"  Yes,  it  would  do  Barney  all  the  good  in  the  world  if  he 
would  conie  and  have  twenty  minutes  with  me  in  the 
morning,  as  he  used  to  years  ago  ;  and  it  would  do  me  good 
too,  for  I  am  getting  stiff  and  my  sight  is  none  too  good,  but 
I  can  quite  understand  Avhy  he  can't  do  that  now.  There 
never  was  a  simpler,  more  unaffected  chap  than  Barney  alw  ays 
has  been  and  is  still,  but  he  has  too  many  irons  in  the  fire. 
You  know  how  quick  and  lively  he  always  is,  just  like  a 
pai'ched  pea  in  a  frying-pan,  as  the  saying  is.  Well,  he  has 
always  been  like  that,  just  a  bmidle  of  quivering  nerves,  and 
some  day  that  marvellous  vitality  will  cease.  Either  life  or 
brain  will  go." 

Barnato  was  never  in  the  least  inclined  to  be  morbid  or 
introspective,  and  he  regarded  all  possibilities  of  the  future 
with  perfect  equanimity. 

One  morning,  in  the  coui'se  of  conversation  the  name  of 
R.  W.  MuiTay,  sen.,  was  mentioned,  and  I  said  that  my 
acquaintance  with  him  had  a  singular  commencement. 

"Well,  out  with  the  yarn,"  said  Barnato. 


PEKSONAL  ANECDOTES  169 

"  It  was  during  one  of  Murray's  visits  to  Port  Elizabeth, 
and  I  was  going  home  across  the  market  square  one  morning, 
when  I  saw  the  old  gentleman,  whom  I  had  lately  been 
introduced  to,  looking  for  his  hotel.  I  put  him  right,  and 
then  finding  that  he  knew  Birmingham  I  stayed  for  a  long 
time  discussing  old  Birmingham  notabilities ;  amongst  others, 
George  Dawson,  the  famous  Unitarian  of  twentv-five  yeare 
ago.  Murray  told  me  one  or  two  good  stories  of  that  most 
able  and  eccentric  man,  and  then  spoke  of  his  sudden  death  ; 
reminding  me  that  on  a  notable  occasion  he  said  that  the 
only  fault  he  had  to  find  with  the  Church  of  England  liturgy 
was  that  the  petition  in  the  Litany,  '  From  battle  and  murder, 
and  from  sudden  death,  good  Lord,  deliver  us,''  should  have  read 
'  From  battle  and  murder,  and  from  lingering  death,' "  &c. 

"  Ah  ! "  said  Barnato,  "  I  do  not  know  much  about  the 
Unitarians,  but  he  was  quite  right.  When  my  turn  comes, 
and  with  it  death,  let  it  be  sharp  and  sudden.  What  awful 
torture  it  would  be  for  me  to  be  lying  ill,  sick,  getting 
weaker  and  Aveaker  from  day  to  day,  for  weeks  !  No,  no  !  no 
lingering  death  for  me."  Then,  continuing  without  a  pause  : 
"Here,  come  and  look  at  this  picture,''  leading  the  way  info 
the  drawing-room,  where  an  enlargement  of  a  photograph 
stood  leaning  against  a  chair.  "Jack,  my  son  Jack  on  a 
bicycle,  and  not  two  years  old.  Eh,  good,  isn't  it  ?  No,  of 
course,  he  can't  really  ride  yet,  though  he  is  a  jolly  little 
chap  and  is  coming  on  Avell.  He  was  propped  up  very  care- 
fully for  the  picture  to  be  taken,  and  it  looks  as  natural  as 
possible." 

After  breakfast  that  morning  his  little  daughter  brought  in 
her  new  doll,  the  father's  own  present  of  the  evening  before, 
to  show  me. 

"  Ah,"  said  Barnato  with  a  merry  twinkle.  "  I  nearly 
got  into  the  biggest  row  of  my  life  last  night.  I  had 
promised  to  bring  that  doll  home,  and  drove  to  the  AVanderer's 
railway  crossing  before  I  remembered  it.  I  had  to  turn 
round,  and  drive  as  hard  as  possible  back,  and  just  got  to  the 


170  li.   I.   BxVRXATO 

shop  as  they  Mere  shutting  up.  I  tell  you,  if  I  had  come 
home  without  that  doll  you  would  not  have  cared  to  be  in  my 
shoes.  Eh,  Miss  Baniato,''''  turning  to  the  little  one,  "  there 
would  have  been  a  pretty  kettle  of  fish,  eh  ?  " 

After  breakfast  I  walked  down  to  the  club  with  him,  and 
his  mind  was  still  full  of  the  children. 

"  Isn''t  it  strange,"  he  said,  "  Fanny  and  I  «  ere  married  for 
eighteen  years  and  no  children,  and  now  we  have  '  Miss 
Baniato  *  and  Jack,  and  we  must  get  back  to  London  at 
once."" 

"  You  have  a  great  deal  on  hand,""  I  remarked,  "just 
now.     Would  not  ]Mrs.  Barnato  be  as  comfortable  out  here?  *" 

"  I  won't  stay,'"  he  said  sharply  ;  "  I  take  no  risks.  In 
London  I  can  get  everything  that  money  can  buy.  Here  I  am 
seven  thousand  miles  from  it  all."'"' 

Barnato  was  most  fondly  attached  to  his  wife  and  children, 
and  they  accompanied  him  in  all  his  journeys  to  and  from 
London.  In  the  earlier  days,  before  the  children  came, 
Mrs.  Barnato  accompanied  her  husband  on  his  journeys  to  the 
Hand  and  Capetown,  when  the  only  conveyance  was  for  the 
richest  a  cart  or  special  coach,  over  rude  trackways  that  an 
English  coachman  would  despair  of. 

Barnato  met  his  future  wife  at  Kimberley  in  1874,  and  in 
1875  they  were  secretly  man-ied  by  the  civil  law.  The 
marriage  was  kept  secret  for  some  time,  for  Mrs.  Barnato  was 
not  of  the  Hebrews,  and  the  man*iage  was  certain  to  be 
bitterly  opposed  by  his  family.  However,  Barnato  had  taken 
his  own  way,  as  he  generally  did  ;  he  married  the  wife  of  his 
choice,  a  most  able,  accomplished  and  clever  woman,  and  the 
family  objections  were  overcome  Mhen  Mrs.  Barnato  adopted 
the  Hebrew  faith.  The  childi'en  have,  of  course,  been  brought 
up  in  that  faith. 

The  eldest  child,  the  daughter  named  Leah  Primrose,  after 
Bamato's  mother  and  his  fii*st  Transvaal  mining  venture,  was 
bom  at  28  Park  Lane  on  March  16,  1893. 

The  next  child,  a  boy,  named  Isaac  Henry  ^^'^oolf,  was  bom 


PERSONAL  ANECDOTES  171 

at  36  Curzon  Street,  jVIayfair,  on  June  7,  1894.  He  is 
commonly  called  Jack,  and  is  the  hero  of  the  bicycle. 

The  third  and  youngest  child,  a  boy,  named  Woolf  Joel, 
was  born  at  Spencer  House,  St.  Jameses  Place,  on  September  27, 
1895. 

I  do  not  know  quite  whether  it  is  necessary  to  state  that, 
however  gi'eat  an  admiration  Barnato  may  have  had  for  Lord 
Rosebery,  both  as  one  of  Her  Majesty's  Ministers  and  as  a 
good  sportsman,  he  neither  took  Lord  Rosebery 's  family 
name  for  his  daughter,  nor  the  cognomen  of  a  racehoi-se  for 
his  son. 

He  rather  delighted  in  mildly  scandalising  the  very 
staid  members  of  the  Cape  Parliament.  Whenever  he  could 
manage  it  he  would,  in  apparent  forgetfulness,  stroll  in  to  his 
seat  in  the  House  of  Assembly  with  a  lighted  cigarette 
between  his  lips,  and  he  was  particularly  pleased  when  he 
could  introduce  some  absurdity  into  a  grave  debate.  Perhaps 
the  best  thing  of  this  kind  he  managed  ^vas  during  a  debate 
in  the  1893  session  on  the  Cape  Liquor  Law,  which  prohibited 
the  sale  of  liquor  on  Sunday,  unless  as  the  accompaniment  of 
a  substantial  meal.  In  the  coui"se  of  his  contribution  to  the 
debate  he  said : 

"  A  few  Sundays  ago  I  walked  some  distance  from  Cape- 
town, for,  being  busily  engaged  in  mentally  reviewing  the 
course  of  business  of  the  Honoural)le  House,  I  went  on  much 
farther  than  I  had  intended  without  noticing  the  time.  I  at 
length  retraced  mv  steps,  and,  being  then  both  hot  and 
thirsty,  went  into  a  decent  and  most  resj^ectable  hotel  for 
refreshment.  I  only  wanted  to  quench  my  thii'st,  but 
according  to  law  a  drink  could  onlv  be  supplied  as  the  accom- 
paniment of  a  bond  fide  substantial  meal.  Mine  host  set 
before  me  a  bottle  of  beer  and  a  leg  of  roast  pork.  He  had 
no  other  eatables.  \Miat  was  I  to  do  ?  If  I  ate  the  pork  I 
broke  the  law  of  Moses,  if  I  drank  the  beer  w  ithout  eating  I 
broke  the  law  of  the  land.  Between  the  Chief  Rabbi  and  the 
Chief  Justice  I  stood  in  a  very  awkward  position." 


172  B.   I.   BARNATO 

One  evening,  after  a  dinner  at  a  well-known  club,  an 
attempt  was  made  to  engage  him  in  a  game  of  billiards  with 
a  good  player,  and  it  was  intended  that  some  money  should 
be  extracted  from  him  in  bets.  Nothing  loath — for  he  was 
fond  of  the  game  and  played  well,  circumstances  which  were 
not  known  to  the  people  there — an  adjournment  was  made 
to  the  billiard-room.  There  every  seat  was  rapidly  filled 
up  to  watch  the  expected  game,  and  his  opponent  said : 

"  Shall  we  ])lay  for  a  fiver,  Mr.  Barnato  .'' " 

"  Yes,  I  don^t\nind." 

Several  of  those  present  then  offered  each  to  bet  him  a 
fiver  he  did  not  win.  He  gave  a  quick  glance  round,  saw 
the  eagerness  for  the  fivers  and  a  share  in  the  spoil,  and 
turning  to  a  friend  with  him,  said  : 

"  Have  you  got  any  paper,  Tom  "i!  Take  everything  they 
offer;  I  am  going  to  make  some  money  to-night.  Put  a 
fiver  on  for  youi-self — I  shall  win." 

To  the  intense  chagrin  and  disgust  of  the  majority 
present  he  did  win,  playing  a  very  good  game,  and  just 
i*unning  out  with  a  little  bit  in  hand. 

One  morning,  when  going  alone  to  a  race  meeting,  he  struck 
up  an  acquaintance  with  a  man  at  the  starting  station,  hatl  a 
drink  with  him,  and  then  in  the  crush  for  the  train  they  were 
sepai'ated.  He  got  into  a  can-iage  with  three  of  the  "  sharp  " 
fraternity,  who  marked  him  for  their  own.  Arrived  at  their 
destination,  his  fii*st  acquaintance  saw  the  party  get  out  of 
the  carriage,  and,  coming  hastily  up  to  one  of  them,  said  : 
"  Here,  you  leave  him  alone  ;  he  is  my  bird." 

"Oh!  he  is,  is  he?""  was  the  rejoinder.  "  Well,  you  are 
welcome  to  him,  for  he  has  got  all  our  money."" 

Before  reaching  the  course  Barnato  returned  the  sharps 
their  money,  saying :  "  Here,  it  is  bad  enough  for  you 
chaps  to  have  lost  your  railway  journey.  1  don't  want  your 
money,  but  don't  mark  Barney  Barnato  down  for  a  mug- 
again.''  What  Barnato  did  not  know  of  the  ways  of  these 
gentry  was  not  worth  knowing. 


PERSONAL  ANECDOTES  173 

At  Johannesburg  some  years  ago  a  well-known  individual 
of  a  type  rather  common  there  borrowed  dS'lO  from  Barnato, 
and  although  asked  for  the  money  several  times  always  put 
off"  payment.  One  day  between  the  chains  Barnato  said 
openly   to   some   friends :    "  IMind   none    of  you   ever    lend 

F.  D any  money.     He  has  dPlO  of  mine,  and  it  is  time 

he  was  stopped." 

The  man  heard  of  this,  and,  coming  up  to  him,  said :  "  I 
hear  you  have  been  talking  about  me  ?  " 

"  Yes ;  I  want  my  money."' 

"  Well,  here  is  your  ddO,  and  don''t  talk  about  me  any 
more." 

A  short  time  afterwards  the  same  man  asked  Barnato  for 
the  loan  of  £25,  as  he  was  hard  up. 

"  No,  can"'t  do  it,"  was  the  reply. 

"  Why  not  ?     I  do  not  owe  you  anything." 

"  I  know  you  don't,  but  you%e  disappointed  me  once.  You 
paid  back  ddO  I  never  expected  to  get,  and  I  won't  risk 
another  disappointment." 

Barnato's  early  education  at  the  Jewish  Free  School  was 
most  elementary.  He  never  read  books,  and  only  occasionally 
skimmed  newspapers.  Speaking  of  the  South  African  papers, 
he  said  he  knew  all  he  wanted  to  know  before  the  papers 
were  published,  and  as  for  books, "  it  is  cheaper  for  me  to  pay 
a  man  to  pick  out  what  I  want  than  to  waste  time  myself  in 
looking  for  it." 

For  art  he  cared  nothing,  and  his  only  criticism  of  pictures 
was  from  the  story-telling  point  of  view.  A  newly  arrived 
illustrated  paper,  the  Graphic,  I  think,  was  handed  to  him 
one  day  in  a  moment  of  waiting.  "  Is  there  anything  by 
that  chap  Wain — any  of  his  wonderful  cats  ? "  he  asked. 
There  was  not,  and  he  would  not  look  at  other  good  work. 
Among  black-and-white  artists,  Louis  Wain  and  Maurice 
Grieffenhagen  were  to  him  fii-st  of  all. 

Absolutely  careless  of  appearances,  he  did  concede  to 
London  a  black  coat  and  silk  hat,  but  elsewhere   checked 


174  B.   I.   BARNATO 

tweed  and  felt  were  the  only  wear,  and  all  display  was  most 
distasteful  unless  undertaken  for  a  definite  purpose.  He 
had  to  the  full  the  old  prejudice  against  house-building,  and 
if  he  indeed  had  any  supei*stition  it  was  in  this.  He  yet 
made  many  announcements  of  building  of  palaces  from 
motives  of  policy.  At  Johannesburg  many  plans  were  j)re- 
pared  and  sites  selected,  but  it  was  only  within  the  last  two 
years  that  work  was  really  commenced  in  laying  out  thirteen 
acres  of  gardens.  Even  this  was  rather  for  the  purpose  of 
booming  the  villa  lots  he  owned  in  the  vicinity.  He  regarded 
London  as  a  convenient  business  centre  which  it  was  necessary 
for  him  to  visit  each  year,  and  he  had  been  content  with  such 
hired  houses  as  he  could  obtain,  as  the  varying  places  of 
birth  of  his  children  show.  In  1895  he  determined  to  build 
a  gi-eat  house  suited  to  his  fortunes,  and  one  in  which  he 
could  indulge  his  taste  for  most  generous  hospitality.  A 
splendid  site  at  the  corner  of  Park  Lane  and  Stanhope  Street 
was  purchased  and  the  building  began.  Yet  his  supei*stitions 
troubled  him.  Passing  the  gi'owing  building  one  day,  he 
said  : 

"  There  it  is,  but  I  shall  never  live  in  it." 

AATien  he  Avas  in  Johannesburg  a  little  more  than  a  year 
ago,  I  showed  him  a  print  of  the  elevation  of  his  Park 
Lane  house,  which  had  been  issued  with,  I  think,  the  Building 
Neics. 

"I  shall  have  the  finest  entrance-hall,  stairs,  and  dining- 
room  in  London,"  he  said. 

"  So  you  are  really  building  at  last  ?  " 

"  Building  ?  "  he  queried  sharply.  "Oh  yes,  I  am  building. 
I  must." 


CHAPIER  XII 
LOUIS   COHEN'S    REMINISCENCES 

Barnato's  first  partnership  and  office — The  pony  that  drove  him- 
self— A  loyal  friend — Would  buy  an  ironclad — What  are  my 
colours  ? — Getting  in  the  water  rates — A  whisky  jelly  at  Birch's 
— Kimberley  stage  work — Barnato  v.  Cohen  and  the  return  match 
— Sleeping  extraordinary — Feeding  the  hungry 

I  AM  indebted  to  Mr.  Louis  Cohen,  one  of  Barnato's  oldest 
and  closest  friends,  for  most  of  the  anecdotes  in  this  chapter. 
His  acquaintance  and  partnership  with  Barnato  have  been 
already  referred  to.  The  acquaintance  began  in  this 
manner. 

Towards  the  end  of  1873,  Louis  Cohen,  himself  a  com- 
paratively new  an'ival  in  Kimberley,  boarded — i.e.,  took  his 
meals  only — at  a  restaurant,  which  unblushingly  and  quite 
innocently  put  up  outside  the  sign  of  the  "  Scarlet  Bar.""  It 
was  a  very  cheap  place,  and  suited  him  at  the  time,  for  he  was 
not  very  well  off.  One  day  he  w  as  having  tiffin  there,  and  a 
casual  acquaintance,  sitting  beside  him,  said  : 

"  Do  you  see  that  young  fellow  over  there  with  the  glasses  ? 
That  is  Hany  Baniato"'s  brother  just  arrived — a  very  shaip 
chap,  I  believe." 

Cohen  says :  "  After  tiffin  I  went  out  on  the  kopje,  and 
there  I  again  saw  Barnato.  We  entered  into  convei-sation  in 
some  way,  I  forget  how  now,  and  spent  the  rest  of  the  day 
and  the  evening  together.  I  was  buying  diamonds  on  the 
kopjes  then,  and  he  asked  if  he  could  go  out  with  me  the 
next  day  on  my  rounds.     I  agreed ;  he  went  with  me,  saw 


176  B.   I.   BARNATO 

what  the  business  was  Hke,  and  we  got  to  be  friendly.  A  few 
days  later  he  was  walking  with  me  in  the  camp,  and  pointing 
out  a  very  well  situated  office,  said  : 

" '  Well,  Lou,  how  would  that  do  for  an  office  for  the  two  of 
us?' 

"  I  liked  the  situation  very  much,  and  said  so,  but  I  said  that 
it  would  cost  far  too  much,  and  it  would  be  ridiculous  for  us 
to  take  such  a  place, 

"  '  Well,'  said  Barnato,  '  let  us  ask  what  the  rent  would  be.' 

"  I  went  in.  A  man  named  Maloney  owned  the  place,  a  tiny 
unfloored,  conjugated  iron  shanty  about  eight  feet  by  six  feet, 
and  found  that  the  rent  was  one  guinea  a  day.  I  came  out 
to  Barnato  and  said :  '  There,  that  is  ^^'hat  I  expected ;  it  is 
ridiculous  to  think  we  could  })ay  that.' 

" '  I  do  not  know  that,'  he  replied  ;  '  the  situation  is 
good.  Why  not  pay  a  guinea  a  day  if  you  can  make  thirty 
shillings  ? ' 

"  Well,  in  the  result  we  took  that  office,  and  to  economise 
divided  it,  small  as  it  Avas,  into  two  by  a  partition.  I  sat  in 
the  front  box  during  the  day  and  bought  diamonds,  and  at 
night  we  both  slept,  without  bedding,  on  the  earthen  floor  at 
the  back.  We  had  just  a  blanket  each.  When  we  com- 
menced partnership  I  had  less  than  one  hundred  pounds, 
Barnato  had  sixty  boxes  of  cigars. 

"  Barnato's  part  of  the  work  of  our  small  firm  was  to  go 
out  on  the  kopjes  and  buy,  and  it  says  much  for  his  per- 
spicacity that,  despite  his  even  then  defective  eyesight,  he 
never  bought  too  dear.  In  diamonds  the  least  flaw  or  speck 
makes  a  vast  difference  in  value,  but  during  the  progi'ess  of 
his  deals  he  contrived  to  hold  his  customers  in  conversation 
until  he  had  thoroughly  examined  what  he  was  about  to  buy. 
The  outside  work  was  very  hard,  in  the  dust,  heat,  and  glare 
of  the  South  African  sun,  to  which  he  was  then  unacclimatised, 
but  he  stood  it  all  and  worked  very  hard. 

"  I  must  tell  you  one  special  incident  of  those  days  which 
certainly  shows  his  wonderful  powers  of  observation. 


LOUIS   COHEN^S   REMINISCENCES  177 

"There  Mas  one  man  then,  a  diamond  buyer  in  a  com- 
paratively large  way,  whose  business  we  both  envied.  He 
seemed  to  have  a  regular  and  large  connection,  and  made 
constant  rounds,  riding  an  old  yellow  rather  lame  pony.  We 
tried  to  follow  him  several  times,  to  see  which  way  he  went, 
and  who,  among  the  wilderness  of  tents,  huts  and  debris-heaps, 
he  called  on,  but  without  avail. 

"  One  day  Barnato  said  to  me,  '  That  chap has  a  rare 

good  connection  ;  we  must  get  hold  of  a  bit  of  it  somehow."" 

"  '  All  right ;  we  want  it  bad  enough," 

"  At  that  time  we  were  very  hard  up  indeed,  and  prospects 
were  poor. 

"  A  few  days  later  Barnato  came  to  me  in  great  glee. 

" '  I  know  what  we  have  to  do  to  get  's  customers. 

I've  seen  him  come  home  three  days  running." 

"  '  If  you  had  seen  him  go  out  and  followed  him  up  it  would 
be  more  to  the  purpose,  I  should  think,'  I  answered,  rather 
sharply  perhaps,  for  I  thought  he  was  fooling. 

" '  Have  patience,  Lou,  and  I'll  tell  you  if  you  give  me  a 
chance.  Look  here,  I've  seen  him  come  back  from  his  rounds 
three  days  running,  and  he  always  stops  first  at  Hall's 
canteen.  Mind  this,  however.  He  does  not  guide  the  pony 
to  that  place,  but  just  sits  still  all  the  while  with  loose  rein, 
and  the  pony  stops  of  his  own  accord.  Now  it  is  my  firm 
conviction  that  all  day  long  he  rides  just  the  same  way,  and 
that  the  pony  knows  all  the  stopping-places.  I've  known  this 
for  some  days,  but  it  didn't  help  so  long  as  he  had  the 
pony  ;  to-dav  he  has  seen  some  other  beast  he  likes  better, 
and  wants  to  sell  his  whole  present  outfit.' 

"  I  agreed.  We  bought  that  old  worn-out  yellow  pony 
and  its  bridle  for  £21  10s.,  and  with  it  the  man's  whole  con- 
nection ;  for  the  morning  after  the  purchase  Barnato  started 
out  early,  and  the  pony,  without  trouble,  took  him  in  and 
out  among  the  debrh-heaps  to  every  one  that  chap  had  been 
in  the  habit  of  calling  on.  We  paid  £27  10s.  for  it,  but  it 
brought  us  a  good  connection  and  very  much  money.     The 

M 


178  B.   I.   BARNATO 

man  little  thought  that  with  the  pony  he  really  sold  the  list 
of  his  custoniei's,  and  I  wonder  if  any  other  man  than  Bamato 
would  have  l)een  so  closely  observant  as  to  notice  that  the 
pony  finished  his  round  without  guidance,  and  so  probably 
knew  all  the  usual  stopjnng-places  of  each  day. 

"Barnato  was  a  good  partner  and  a  good  comrade  ever 
after.  He  was  always  thoroughly  loyal  to  all  his  friends.  I 
remember  some  three  years  ago  he  came  up  to  me  in  the  street. 

" '  Lou/  he  said,  '  you  know is  in  trouble  now.    Well, 

what  will  you  give  to  help  him  P' 

"  *  ril  do  what  I  can,''  I  answered. 

" '  Well,  will  you  give  i^lOO  ? ' 

"  *  No,  I  can''t  afford  that.     Can't  possibly  do  it."* 

" '  Will  you  give  i'lO  ? ' 

" '  Yes,  i  will  do  that  gladly.' 

" '  Ah  well,  that  is  all  right.  If  you  can  give  iJ'lO  I  can 
afford  to  give  =£^400,  and  that  is  what  I  have  just  done.' 

"  I  said  that  Bamato  was  a  loyal  comrade.  He  was  in 
England  before  he  won  the  Kimberley  election,  and  then  we 
had  words  about  something  and  quarrelled.  I  was  wholly 
in  the  wTong,  but  we  quarrelled,  and  when  he  went  back  to 
South  Africa  I  did  not  go  to  see  him  off  as  usual.  A  few 
months  later  I  went  out  to  Johannesburg  in  very  low  water, 
and  on  an'ival  there  had  perhaps  not  more  than  £2  in  the 
world.  I  worked  hard,  pulled  up  a  bit,  and  then  came 
Barney's  triumph  in  Kimberley  and  his  visit  to  the  Rand. 
He  was  not  at  the  very  summit  of  his  fortunes  then,  but  he 
was  at  the  height  of  his  South  African  fame ;  and  I  thought 
to  myself  he  was  far  too  great  to  remember  old  times  and  his 
former  friend,  who  was  merely  a  poor  broker  still.  So  I  did 
not  write  to  him,  nor  go  to  see  him,  for  I  feared  a  rebuff. 
One  evening,  about  half- past  five,  I  was  standing  between  the 
chains,  feeling  pretty  despondent,  when  he  came  up  behind 
and  tap])ed  me  on  the  shoulder. 

" '  Well,  Lou,  how  have  you  been  doing  ?  I  am  glad  to  see 
you.     How  are  you  ? ' 


LOUIS  COHENS  REMINISCENCES  179 

" '  Oh/  I  answered,  '  I  have  been  rubbing  along;  somehow  ; 
mustn''t  complain."' 

" '  Well,  now  I  have  found  you,  let  us  have  a  talk.  You 
know  how  all  these  men  are  worrying  round  to  get  me  to 
dine  with  them,  and  all  this  and  all  that.  I  am  going  to 
dine  with  you  to-night,  and  nowhere  else." 

"  This  was  rather  a  tall  order  for  me,  for  funds  were  very 
low.  However,  it  was  managed  somehow,  and,  after  dinner, 
he  said  to  my  wife : 

" '  How  has  Lou  been  getting  on  really  ? '' 

" '  It  has  been  a  hard  struggle,"  she  replied,  '  but  it  is  all 
right,  I  think,  now." 

" '  I  am  so  sorry  for  the  hard  times."  Then,  turning  to  me : 
'  Lou,  you  have  not  behaved  well  to  me,  and  I  can"t  forget  it, 
but  I  must  make  you  some  money  now." 

"Then  at  the  dinner- table  he  sketched  out  a  piece  of 
business  that  put  =£"150  into  mv  pocket  as  commission,  and 
the  next  morning  he  took  me  in  to  the  managers  of  the  four 
banks  and  introduced  me  to  them  as  his  broker.  The 
previous  day  I  had  been  a  nobodv  without  credit.  After  his 
introduction  my  credit  was  considerably  above  par.  There 
was  no  reason  whv  he  should  have  done  this,  for  I  had 
annoyed  and  offended  him.  He  has  been  called  a  bitter 
enemy.  To  me  and  to  scores  of  others  he  was  ever  a  most 
loyal  friend.  He  was  a  man  utterly  without  malice,  though 
bitter  enough  in  his  opposition  while  it  lasted.  He  could 
understand  that  people  should  oppose  him,  but  he  never  could 
undei-stand  a  malicious  and  persistent  opposition,  and  that 
was  what  won'ied  him  in  some  sections  of  the  press. 

"  He  was  really  very  sensitive  to  press  criticism,  though  he 
put  on  an  appearance  of  indifference.  I  remember  one  day 
he  said : 

" '  Well,  they  can  say  what  they  like  about  me,  and  tell 
whatever  lies  they  choose,  but,  if  they  tell  the  truth,  the  worst 
they  can  say  is  that  my  father  and  mother  were  both  poor 
and  respectable,  and  that  I  am  not  ashamed  of  it." 


180  B.   I.   BARNATO 

"  He  was  intensely,  fervidly  patriotic,  and  most  proud  of 
his  nationality,  as  many  a  man  found  to  his  cost  in  the  old 
diamond  digging  days.  I  remember  one  day  we  had  been 
talking  about  the  position  of  England,  and  Barnato  said  : 

" '  I  don't  feel  quite  easy  about  the  position  at  Home. 
Eui'opean  nations  are  continually  arming,  and  if  they  ever 
got  a  footing  in  England  it  seems  to  me  it  would  soon  be  all  up. 
The  people  could  do  nothing."' 

" '  No,""  I  replied  ;  '  men  like  you  would  be  of  no  use.' 

"  '  Well,  I  couldn't  fight.  Little  men  with  bad  sight  are 
not  much  good,  I  know  ;  but  if  England  was  in  trouble  I  would 
be  of  some  use.  If  I  could  do  nothing  else  I  would  buy  an 
ironclad.' 

"  Barnato  was  most  absent-minded.  I  have  seen  him,  lost 
in  thought,  go  up  to  a  stranger  in  the  street,  and  hold  out 
his  cigarette  for  a  light  without  a  \\  ord,  only  waking  up  when 
asked  angrily  and  abruptly  what  he  meant.  At  a  race 
meeting  at  Johannesburg,  he  went  on  to  the  grand  stand  to 
see  a  race  in  which  one  of  his  horses  was  to  start.  As  usual, 
he  had  no  glasses,  and  only  managed  to  boiTow  a  pair  for  the 
race  as  the  flag  fell.  After  one  glance  at  the  beginning  of 
the  race,  he  turned  to  a  stranger  next  to  him  and  said 
excitedly : 

"  '  For  goodness'  sake,  man,  tell  me  what  my  colours  are.' 

"  You,  of  couree,  know  a  great  deal  about  Bamato  and  his 
Waterworks  Company.  He  was  a  man  who,  in  the  interests 
of  his  shareholders,  would  spare  no  one,  no  matter  how  close 
a  friend.  He  had  at  one  time  in  Johannesburg  great  trouble 
from  the  scarcity  of  water,  and  was  convinced  that  many 
people  were  getting  water  without  paying  for  it.  He  got  me 
to  go  round  with  him  one  Sunday,  starting  before  daylight^ 
and  taking  note  of  every  house  where  water  was  being  allowed 
to  run  to  waste  in  the  gardens.  AVe  walked  up  one  road  and 
down  another  for  quite  fourteen  miles,  and  then  we  stopped 
at  a  bar  for  a  drink. 

"  '  Whisky,'  said  Baniato ;  '  two,  please." 


LOUIS   COHEN'S  REMINISCENCES  181 

" '  With  water  or  soda  ? '  said  the  barmaid,  who  also  owned 
the  bar. 

" '  Oh,  water,  of  course.  Now  this  is  very  good  water,  is  it 
not .''  You  do  not  have  many  complaints  from  customers, 
eh  'i  though  some  people  do  say  the  water  is  bad."" 

" '  Oh,  the  water  is  very  good,  I  think,  though  they  do  not 
often  collect  the  water-rate :  they  have  not  been  for  over  six 
months."" 

" '  Oh,  haven''t  they  "t  "*  Then,  turning  to  me  as  we  came  away, 
he  said :  '  Now,  Lou,  tell  the  truth ;  jou  have  a  house  here 
and  get  the  water ;  do  you  pay  for  it  ^  ' 

" '  Well,  I  have  been  in  the  house  ten  months,  and  have 
paid  no  water-rate  yet.' 

"The  next  day  the  too  frank  barmaid  and  myself  were 
both  served  with  summonses  for  water-rate  with  arrears. 

"  He  very  rarely  carried  money  about  with  him,  and  this 
sometimes  placed  him  in  an  awkward  predicament.  I  ran 
against  him  one  afternoon  as  he  was  going  out  of  Throg- 
morton  Street. 

'' '  Come  and  have  a  drink,"  he  said.  '  I  am  just  going 
do\vn  to  Brighton,  You  come,  and  I  will  give  you  something 
you  have  never  tasted  before — a  whisky  jelly.' 

"  We  went  into  Birch's,  had  the  very  excellent  whisky 
jelly,  and  then  Barnato  turned  to  pay  for  it.  He  had  no 
money,  and  after  feeling  all  over  his  pockets,  could  only  find 
a  few  papei*s,  a  cheque-book,  and  a  railway  season  ticket  to 
Brighton. 

" '  I  have  got  no  money,  Lou  ;  you  pay  for  it.' 

"  Now  I  had  money,  but  I  wanted  to  see  what  he  would  do, 
and  said  :  '  I  can't,  I  have  not  a  shilling.' 

" '  Well,  what  shall  we  do  ?  Shall  I  ask  them  to  cash  a 
cheque  't ' 

"  '  Yes,  that  is  the  best.' 

"  He  wrote  out  a  cheque  for  £9.^  and  asked  the  young  lady 
to  cash  it. 


It  is  against  our  rule  to  cash  cheques,  sir,'  she  said. 


'• '  ■  ■  -  ^^ 


182  B.   I.   BAKNATO 

"  *  Oh,  well,  never  mind,  just  ask  them  to  oblige  me ;  my 
name  is  Barnato."' 

" She  Ment  away,  but  returned  at  once. 

**■ '  I  am  very  sorry,  sir,  but  we  cannot  cash  it/ 

"  *  What  are  we  to  do  ? '  said  Barnato  to  me.  '  I  tell  you 
what.     I  will  leave  my  watch,"'  and  he  began  to  take  it  off. 

" '  Oh,  all  right,  Barney,  I  can  pay  it,''  and  I  paid  it. 

"  You  know  how  fond  Barnato  was  of  the  stage  and  of 
acting.  The  stage  was,  indeed,  a  passion  to  him,  and  he 
undoubtedly  had  a  considerable  amount  of  rough  ability 
which,  with  training,  might  perhaps  have  led  to  success  on 
the  boards.  We  played  together  a  great  deal,  and  his 
special  forte  was  the  delineation  of  Jewish  characteristics. 
In  this  he  was  so  realistic  that  he  gave  offence  to  some 
membei*s  of  our  community,  and  it  was  quietly  hinted  to  him 
that  such  work  tended  to  bring  Jews  into  contempt.  Barnato 
was  a  most  patriotic  Englishman,  but  he  \\ as  none  the  less  a 
good  and  strict  Jew,  and  from  that  time  he  never  played 
another  Jewish  character.     I  played  them  instead. 

"  There  were  two  theatres  at  Kimberley  in  the  early  days, 
and  we  generally  played  at  one,  so  much  so  that  the  proprietor, 
I  believe,  came  to  look  on  Barnato  and  his  large  following  as 
a  valuable  asset.  We  sometimes  played  without  scrip  or 
anything  like  parts  to  study,  gagging  throughout ;  but  it  all 
went  down  somehow,  and  Barnato  was  never  nonplussed, 
never  at  a  loss  for  a  word.  One  special  night  we  played  in  a 
monster  bill  consisting  of  an  act  each  from  the  'Two 
Orphans,""  '  The  Flying  Scud,""  '  The  Octoroon,'  and  '  Oliver 
Twist.'  In  the  last  the  proprietor  was  cast  for  Bill  Sykes, 
Barnato  for  Fagin,  and  myself  for  the  Ai-tful  Dodger.  We 
had  no  scrip  even  for  this  important  night,  and  had  had 
only  one  rehearsal.  All  Avent  well  till  near  the  close,  when 
Bill  Sykes  asked  Fagin  some  question,  to  which  Barnato 
could  not  devise  an  answer.     To  gain  time  he  said  : 

" '  What  was  that  ?  Say  it  again,  Bill " ;  and  the  question 
was  repeated. 


LOUIS   COHENS   REMINISCENCES  183 

"  *  I  do  not  know  anything  about  it,  Bill ;  but  I  see  the 
Artful  Dodger  down  the  street,  Fll  ask  him." 

"  He  then  rushed  from  the  stage  and  called  me  to  go  on.  I 
replied  that  it  was  not  my  cue,  and  did  not  know  what  he 
was  doing. 

" '  Oh,  never  mind  that ;  go  on,  knock  Bill  Sykes  down,  and 
I"'ll  lower  the  curtain.' 

"  I  went  on  as  told,  hit  Bill  over  the  head  ;  we  both  fell,  and 
so  did  the  curtain.  Kimberley  audiences  were  not  very  critical 
when  they  were  pleased,  but  poor  Sykes  had  a  very  sore  head. 

"  I  have  written  several  things  myself  which  have  met  with 
more  or  less  success,  amongst  them  a  comedietta,  entitled 
'  En  Voyage,'  which  was  produced  at  a  matinee  at  the  A'aude- 
ville  Theatre  in  the  Strand.  I  still  think  it  was  very  good ; 
but  when  it  was  first  brought  out  I  was  very  full  of  it. 

"  Barnato  pulled  my  leg  finely  over  this.  Soon  after  the 
first  performance  I  received  a  letter,  purporting  to  come 
from  Day,  the  Birmingham  manager,  to  the  effect  that 
he  had  seen  my  piece,  and  would  like  to  buy  it.  The 
following  Friday,  the  letter  said,  he  had  business  in  Hatton 
Garden,  and  would  meet  me  outside  the  post-office  at  eleven 
o'clock,  or  as  soon  after  as  he  could.  It  was  a  miserably  cold 
and  wet  day,  with  snow  on  the  ground,  and  I  waited  till  two 
o'clock.  It  was  not  until  Barnato  had  passed  me  twice, 
remarking  what  a  bitter  cold  and  miserable  day  it  was  to  be 
out,  that  I  saw  the  joke. 

"  At  that  time  Barnato  was  always  talking  about  taking  a 
part  in  some  new  play  or  other,  and  so,  procuring  a  sheet  of 
Vaudeville  notepaper,  I  w  rote  as  from  the  theatre,  that  the 
manager  was  considering  a  new  play  in  which  he  could  cast 
Barnato,  if  he  would  call  on  him  on  a  certain  evening. 
Barnato  was  delighted,  showed  me  the  letter,  and  asked  me 
to  go  with  him.  We  went  together  at  the  appointed  time, 
and  I  stayed  outside  very  contentedly  for  three-quarters  of 
an  hour,  waiting  developments.  Then  he  came  out  to  me, 
looking  thoroughly  mystified. 


184  B.   I.   BARNATO 

" '  Here,  Lou,  come  aiid  let  us  have  a  drink.     That  man 
is  most   extraordinary.     He  asked  me,  as  you  know, 


to  go  to  him  for  a  special  purpose.  There  were  several  other 
people  with  him.  I  tried  him  twenty  times,  and  could  never 
bring  him  to  the  point.' 

"  At  this  I  could  not  help  laughing  outright.  He  turned 
quickly,  looked  at  me,  and  then,  laughing  heartily,  said : 

" '  Hullo !  you  scoundrel,  this  is  your  work,  eh  ?  getting 
.square  with  me  !  Well,  I  didn"'t  tramp  up  and  down  Hat  ton 
Garden  for  three  hours."" 

"  He  had  a  gi*eat  knack  of  going  to  sleep  whenever  he 
wished,  and  of  waking  upon  an  instant  quite  bright  and 
alert.  I  have  no  doubt  that  this  faculty  of  resting  materially 
aided  in  keeping  his  brain  always  fresh,  but  he  slept  under 
most  peculiar  circumstances.  On  one  occasion,  when  playing 
Othello  at  Kimberley,  he  could  not  be  found  when  his  call 
came  after  the  long  wait.  There  was  a  slight  delay,  but  at 
last  he  was  seen  fast  asleep  in  a  comer,  and  when  awakened 
sprang  up  and  went  straight  on  to  the  stage  at  his  cue. 

"  On  another  occasion,  after  one  of  the  Kimberley  per- 
formances, we  had  all  gone  to  the  manager's  house  for  supper, 
and  sat  talking  till  very  late.  Then  Barnato  was  missed 
from  his  chair,  and  supposing  he  had  gone  quietly  off*,  we 
said  good-night  and  separated.  As  a  matter  of  fact  he  had 
first  of  all  gone  to  sleep  in  his  chair,  then  gradually  slipped 
off*  on  to  the  floor,  and  slept  comfortably  under  the  table. 
About  half-past  three  he  awoke,  and  was  quietly  leaving  the 
house  when  the  big  yard-dog  came  up  suspiciously.  On  the 
sideboard  was  a  cold  leg  of  mutton,  which  he  caught  up, 
threw  to  the  dog  to  pacify  him,  and  then  walked  away. 

"  The  next  day  he  saw  the  manager  and  said  : 

"  '  Oh,  I  am  soiTy  I  was  so  sleepy  last  night ;  hope  I  didn't 
disturb  you  in  letting  myself  out.' 

"*0h,  that  is  all  right,'  was  the  reply,  *but  I  wish  you 
would  not  get  so  fearfullv  hungry.  You  needn't  have  eaten 
all  the  leg  of  mutton,  and  polished  the  bone,  surely.' " 


LOUIS   COHEN^S  REMINISCENCES  185 

I  will  introduce  here  a  story  for  which  Louis  Cohen  is  not 
responsible. 

Baniato  was  not  very  long  ago  a  guest  at  a  very  special 
Savoy  dinner,  and,  either  feeling  tired  or  bored,  dropped  off 
to  sleep  in  his  chair.  He  was  not  disturbed,  and  when  the 
party  broke  up  at  an  early  hour  they  purposely,  by  way  of  a 
joke,  turned  down  the  lights  and  left  him,  to  see  what  he 
would  do.  He  slept  till  nearly  three  o'clock,  when  he  stirred, 
looked  round,  and  thinking,  he  said,  that  it  was  not  worth 
while  wandering  about,  partially  undressed  and  lay  down  on 
a  couch  to  finish  his  sleep,  covering  himself  with  the  hearth- 
rug. He  slept  soundly  till  disturbed  by  the  servants  in  the 
nioraing. 

It  was  a  great  supei*stition  with  him  never  to  turn  back. 
If,  on  leaving  his  house,  he  found  that  he  had  come  away 
without  important  papers  or  anything  else,  he  never  would 
turn  back,  no  matter  if  only  for  a  few  yards,  but  would 
send  for  them  from  his  office.     Louis  Cohen  says  : 

"  Barnato  never  turned  back  in  his  life  in  the  streets  or 
anywhere  else  for  anything  unless  he  had  unwittingly  passed 
a  blind  man,  I  have,  however,  repeatedly  seen  him  rush 
across  crowded  thoroughfares,  dodging  cabs  and  carts,  to  give 
a  blind  man  sixpence.  If,  as  was  frequently  the  case,  he  had 
no  coin  in  his  pockets,  he  would  borrow  sixpence  from  any  one 
with  him." 

To  lend  him  small  change  was  to  say  good-bye  to  the 
cash,  and  he  has  often  had  to  ask  from  one  to  another, '  Lend 
me  five  shillings,""  and  been  met  all  round  with, '  No,  Barney,  I 
shall  never  see  it  again.  I  will  lend  you  five  pounds  with 
pleasure,'  The  small  amount  he  would  ignore,  the  larger 
would  be  promptly  re]>aid, 

"  Not  only,"  says  Louis  Cohen,  "  was  Barnato  ever  mindful 
of  the  blind,  but  he  was  particularly  distressed  at  the  exhi- 
bition of  children  in  the  streets.  One  winter  evening,  early 
in  January  1896,  the  streets  were  like  glass,there  was  some 
fog,  and  he  decided  to  walk  with  me  home  from  the  City 


186  B.   I.   BARNATO 

instead  of  riding.  In  Oxford  Street  we  saw  a  woman  carrying 
a  child  of  perhaps  two  years  old,  and  singing.  He  stepped 
up  to  her,  saying : 

" '  There  is  a  milk-shop  over  there.  Here  is  sixpence,  get 
some  hot  milk  for  the  child/ 

"  Then  we  stood  up  in  a  doorway  a  little  distance  off  to  see 
that  this  was  done.  The  woman,  thinking  we  were  out  of 
sight,  walked  into  a  bar,  had  some  gin,  and  gave  the  child 
nothing.  He  walked  straight  across  and  stood  close  up  by 
the  doorpost,  waiting  for  her  to  come  out.  When  she 
appeared  he  caught  hold  of  her  arm,  almost  voiceless  with 
anger : 

"  '  You — you — you  scoundrel !  I  gave  you  money  to  get 
hot  milk — hot  milk,  dVe  understand  r — for  the  child.  You 
deserve  to  be  given  in  charge.     Here,  come  here  ! ' 

"  Snatching  the  child  away  from  her,  he  walked  into  the 
milk-shop,  sat  it  on  the  counter,  and  fed  the  shivering  little 
mite  with  hot  milk  and  buns  with  his  own  hand.  Then  he 
gave  it  back  to  the  woman  with  a  further  donation. 

"  '  Now  you  go  straight  away  home.'' "" 


CHAPTER   XIII 
REVOLUTION   AND  RAID 

Barnato's  penultimate  visit  to  the  Rand — After  the  raid — His 
exertions  for  peace — The  prisoners  delivered — Barnato  the  con- 
jurer— The  Matabele  rebellion — His  scheme  of  relief — The  com- 
plaint of  overwork — Kipling  appreciated  —  Trouble  with  the 
water  company — The  last  triumphant  departure 

Ix  April  1896  Barnato  again  airived  in  Johannesburg 
under  circumstances  very  different  from  any  tliat  liad  before 
either  occasioned  or  accompanied  his  visits.  The  whole  of 
the  Transvaal  was  still  in  a  simmer  of  excitement  over  the 
wretched  fiasco  of  the  abortive  revolution  of  the  previous 
December.  Sixty-three  members  of  the  Reform  Committee 
had,  after  imprisonment,  undergone  a  preliminary  examina- 
tion, and  were  then  on  bail  awaiting  innninent  trial.  Confis- 
cation and  war  were  in  the  air,  or,  as  the  only  alternative,  a 
perpetuation  of  the  grinding  despotism  of  th(;  nominal 
Republic.  His  previous  visits  had  all  been  to  personally 
nurse  and  develop  his  interests ;  he  had  now  to  rescue  them. 
He  had,  moreover,  a  most  urgent  family  affair  to  attend  to, 
for  his  trusted  lieutenant  and  nephew,  S.  B.  Joel,  had  at  the 
last  moment  suffered  his  name  to  be  added  to  the  list  of 
Reform  Committee  members,  and  was  in  consequence  one  of 
the  proscribed.  With  indefatigable  energy  he  applied  him- 
self to  the  task  of  unravelling  the  tangle.  The  Johannesburg- 
office  was  reorganised  and  strengthened,  development  at  the 
mines  and  all  work  in  connection  therewith  was  vigorously 
pressed  forward,  and  the  output  of  gold,  from  the  Barnato 


188  B.   I.   BARNATO 

group  of  mines  at  any  rate,  was  rapidly  brought  up  to  the 
normal. 

The  mere  fact  of  his  being  on  the  way  to  the  Transvaal 
afforded  a  sense  of  peace  and  tranquillity  to  all  classes, 
and  "Barney''s  coming,  he'll  soon  straighten  things  up,"" 
was  the  general  remark  on  the  first  reception  of  the  news. 
He  would  have  been  accorded  an  unrehearsed  popular 
reception  on  arrival,  but  the  particular  date  was  purposely 
kept  secret  to  avoid  this,  and  the  general  welcome  had  to  be 
voiced  only  in  the  street  salutations,  in  the  ringing  cheers 
which  gi-eeted  his  first  appearance  on  'Change,  and  in  the 
scramble  for  tickets  for  the  public  dinner  given  in  his  honour 
at  the  Grand  National  Hotel.  On  this  occasion  he  did  not, 
as  in  previous  years,  occupy  a  separate  house,  and  extend  the 
same  lavish  and  general  hospitality,  but  stayed  with  S.  B.  Joel. 
He  had  both  too  nmch  to  do,  and  the  circumstances  were  too 
grave  for  either  entertainment  or  amusement.  The  usual 
open  breakfast  table  therefore  became  a  family  gathering 
only,  to  which  occasionally  two  or  three  trusted  intimates 
were  admitted. 

Up  to  the  trial  he  was  very  well  satisfied  with  the 
jirogress  of  affairs.  He  credited  the  President  and  the 
Executive  Council  of  the  Republic  with  an  honest  desire 
to  set  things  straight,  and  to  cany  out  the  policy  so  loudly 
trumpeted  forth,  "  forget  and  forgive."  The  members  of  the 
Reform  Committee  would  certainly  be  charged  with  treason 
to  the  Republic,  but  under  the  Gold  Law,  even  if  all  were 
convicted,  the  penalty  would  be  merely  nominal ;  and  he 
ascertained  in  the  course  of  his  Pretoria  visits  that  there 
was  no  doubt  that  the  Gold  Law,  and  that  only,  was 
the  law  under  which  the  offences  of  all  would  be  tried. 
Even  when  the  Executive  Council  decided  to  import  a 
judge  specially  from  the  Orange  Free  State  to  try  the  case, 
he  had  no  suspicion  that  the  prosecution  would  be  conducted 
in  any  unusual  manner.  Then  came  the  surrender  of  all  the 
prisoners  for  the  trial,  and  the  negotiations  on   the   night 


REVOLUTION  AND  RAID  189 

preceding  which. resulted  in  all  pleading  guilty.  The  historv 
of  that  nighfs  work  will  possibly  furnish  a  good  subject  to 
some  student  in  the  distant  future,  for  an  admirable  thins: 
about  the  Boer  Government  is  its  patiently  compiled 
voluminous  State  records.  Against  the  plea  of  guilty 
Barnato  protested.  To  use  his  own  words,  "  It  was  an 
act  of  suicidal  mania,  it  was  throwing  up  the  game,  it  was 
throwing  every  chance  away."  He  even  told  Mr.  Kriiger 
himself  that  no  civilised  court  of  law  would  ever  accept  such 
a  plea  to  such  a  charge.  All  was,  however,  of  no  avail.  The 
plea  was  made,  was  accepted,  and  the  death  sentences  on 
some,  with  heavy  fines  and  long  imprisonment  on  the  others, 
amongst  whom  was  his  nephew,  were  pronounced  under  the 
ancient  Roman-Dutch  Law,  of  which  Mr.  S.  Paul  Kriiger,  in 
his  earlier  days  of  successful  armed  rebellion  against  the 
Republic  as  then  constituted,  had  probablv  never  heard. 
When  the  sentences  had  been  pronounced  Barnato  gave 
free  vent  to  his  passionate  indignation.  He  sought  an  inter- 
view at  once  with  President  Kriiger,  and  addressing  him  in 
terms  that  have  probably  never  before  been  applied  openly  to 
the  head  of  a  State,  charged  him  with  treacherously  obtain- 
ing the  plea  of  guilty,  because  he  knew  that  even  a  foreign 
judge  and  an  old  trumped-up  law  could  not  have  secured 
conviction  in  all  cases.  He  threw  down  his  defiance  at  once, 
declaring  that  if  the  sentences  were  not  commuted  and  all 
the  prisoners  released  within  a  fortnight  he  would  shut  dow  n 
every  mine  over  which  he  had  control,  and  throw  out  of  work 
more  white  men  than  the  Republic  had  Burghers.  Deejily 
moved  as  Barnato  undoubtedly  was  at  the  unexpected 
procedure  and  result  of  this  peculiar  State  trial,  there  is  iio 
question  but  that  his  apparently  uncontrollable  passion  was 
entirely  subservient  to  his  policy  thereupon  decided  on.  The 
same  night,  when  returning  to  Johannesburg  he  was  accom- 
panied to  the  railway  station  by  some  hundreds  of  excited 
Englishmen  wildly  cheering,  and  from  the  station  platform  he 
denounced  thePresident,  the  judge,  and  the  trial  in  most  iuflani- 


190  B.   I.   BARNATO 

iiiatory  language,  reitemting  his  determination  to  stop  all 
work  if  the  prisoners  were  not  liberated  ;  and  the  next  morning 
at  Johannesburg  he  at  once  arranged  to  give  notices  for  closing 
down  and  suspending  all  work.  He  had  condemned  the  line  of 
action  that  the  Reform  Committee  had  pursued,  and  he  had 
been  sorely  wounded  in  his  pride  that  such  a  move  should 
have  been  taken  without  consulting  him;  although  he  derived 
some  consolation  from  the  reflection  that  they  had  either  to 
move  without  consulting  him  or  not  at  all,  as  they  knew  quite 
well  that  he  would  never  have  allowed  it ;  but  from  the  con- 
clusion of  the  trial  he  had  only  one  thought,  and  that  was  to 
set  all  at  liberty.  For  his  own  part,  dunng  the  short  time  that 
elapsed  between  the  sentences  and  their  commutation,  he 
suspended  all  other  work,  devoting  himself  to  this  alone. 
Before  the  fortnight's  notices  for  closing  down  had  expired, 
as  a  result  of  a  further  interview  with  the  President,  he 
extended  the  notices,  and  before  the  extended  time  had 
elapsed  all  the  prisonei-s,  except  A.  Woolls  Sampson  and 
Karri  Davies,  were  released.  He  considered,  and  very  justly, 
that  this  was  a  great  tribute  to  his  own  work  and  influence. 
During  the  days  of  weary  waiting  he  had  been  very  anxious ; 
to  his  sister,  Mrs.  Joel,  the  mother  of  S.  B.  Joel,  he  had 
always  been  very  much  attached,  and  his  personal  feeling  was 
shown  very  strongly  at  this  time  when,  at  the  family  dinner, 
after  sitting  throughout  the  meal  in  silence,  he  rose,  pushed 
back  his  chair,  and  saying,  "  How  can  I  face  the  boy"'s  poor 
mother  if  I  don't  get  him  out  of  tronk.?"*  left  the  room. 
He  had,  however,  absolute  confidence  in  himself  and  his 
power,  and  never  doubted  but  that  the  Pretoria  Government 
must  give  Avay,  although  he  hardly  expected  that  they  would 
incline  to  mercy  until  he  had  shown  that  he  was  in  earnest 
by  actually  closing  down.  He  felt  the  tremendous  responsi- 
bility of  his  threatened  action,  involving  the  sudden  throwing 
out   of  work  of  20,000  white  men  and  100,000  Kaffirs   in 

*  The  Cape  Dutch  word  for  "gaol,"  in  general  use  throughout  South 
Africa, 


REVOLUTION  AND  RAID  191 

a  country  where  food  and  all  the  necessaries  of  life  were 
exorbitantly  dear ;  and  the  relief,  when  success  had  crowned 
his  efforts,  was  correspondingly  great.  With  this  was  a 
feeling  of  proud  exultation  at  such  a  direct  tribute  to  his 
power. 

"No  one  else  could  have  done,"  he  said,  "what  I  have 
done.  If  all  the  men  (financial  houses  in  the  Transvaal)  here 
had  combined,  they  might  in  two  months'"  time  have  been 
stronger  than  me ;  but  no  one  but  Barnato  could  say  in  a 
moment  off  his  own  bat,  '  If  you  don''t  release  those  men  I 
will  shut  up  half  the  mines,  and  throw  more  white  men  idle 
than  you  have  Burghers  in  the  State.'' '''' 

He  had  always  before  sought  to  keep  on  good  terms  per- 
sonally with  the  President  of  the  Republic,  although  he  had 
never  hesitated  to  speak  out  plainly  on  the  many  occasions 
when  promised  concessions  to  others  had  threatened  his  own 
undertakings  ;  but  it  is  scarcely  to  be  wondered  at  that  after 
this  event  the  cordiality  of  his  receptions  at  the  Pretoria 
White  House  showed  marked  diminution.  For  this  he 
personally  cared  nothing;  he  knew  that  his  real  power  and 
influence  had  not  been  lessened. 

When  the  effect  of  Bamato''s  diplomacy  and  shrewd 
negotiations  began  to  be  made  manifest  at  Pretoria  in  the 
more  conciliatory,  or  perhaps  rather  lest  minatory  attitude  of 
the  President,  the  change  was  readily  appreciated  in  England. 
This  appreciation  was  cleverly  crystallised  in  a  Moonshine 
cartoon,  which  I  have  received  very  courteous  permission  to 
make  use  of,  and  reproduce  on  the  opposite  page. 

The  cartoon  was  entitled  : 

"BARNATO   THE   CONJURER" 
Mr.  Chamberlain,  loq.  :  '  How  on  earth  does  he  do  it  ?  '  " 

When  all  the  members  of  the  Reform  Committee  were 
again  at  liberty,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  express  very  frankly 
his  opinion  of  their  miserably  mismanaged  conspiracy. 

"  The  conspiracy  was,"'  he  said,  "  a  crime.     All  was  coming 


192  B.   I.   BARNATO 

right.  Another  two  or  three  yeai's  at  the  outside  would 
have  seen  a  new  Raad,  more  liberal  treatment,  and  the 
mining  industry  more  than  doubled.  The  crying  evils  to 
be  remedied  were  the  corrupt  public  administration,  the 
oppression  of  the  State  railway  and  the  monopolists,  and  the 
exorbitant  taxes  on  food  to  support  a  farming  population 
that  will  not  farm."" 

He  ridiculed  the  assertion  that  there  was  any  marked 
tlesire  for  the  franchise  or  for  State-aided  English  education 
for  the  children.     He  said  : 

•'  Men  do  not  come  to  the  Transvaal  to  vote,  they  come  to 
earn  money.  The  franchise  would  cost  blood  and  money 
to  obtain,  and  would  never  add  sixpence  a  month  to  any  one's 
wages,  while  even  if  it  was  granted  not  one  Englishman  in 
a  thousand  would  give  up  his  birthright  to  take  an  oath  of 
allegiance  to  the  Transvaal  Republic.  As  for  the  education 
cry,  if  the  people  want  English  education  for  their  children 
let  them  pay  for  it,  I  will  do  my  part ;  but  it  cannot  be 
expected  that  a  Dutch  Government  will  treat  its  own 
language  as  a  foreign  one."" 

A  matter  that  at  this  time  occupied  very  much  of 
Barnato''s  attention  was  the  Matabele  rising  in  Rhodesia.  It 
will  be  remembered  that  no  sooner  were  the  principal  men 
among  the  chiefs  of  the  late  Lo  Bengula  made  aware  of  the 
tlefeat  and  surrender  of  the  dreaded  Chartered  Company's 
police  in  the  Transvaal,  and  that  even  the  Administrator  Dr. 
Jameson  was  a  prisoner,  than  they  initiated  an  attempt  to 
regain  their  former  savage  and  despotic  rule  by  the  merciless 
slaughter  of  white  settlers,  women,  children,  miners  and 
prospectors.  The  news  of  some  of  the  most  terrible  massacres 
did  not  reach  the  Transvaal  until  several  weeks  had  elapsed, 
and  it  seemed  then  that  the  whole  of  the  Northern  Extension 
was  for  a  time  doomed  to  relapse  into  barbarism,  with  the 
accompaniment  of  many  further  horrors.  His  decision  was 
as  usual  prompt  and  very  nmch  to  the  point.  It  was  on  a 
Tuesday  evening  that  he  received  f^ome  special  telegraj)hic 


REVOLUTION   AND   llAID  193 

news  of  a  series  of  massacres  having  taken  place,  evidently 
by  preconcerted  action  of  the  Matabele,  and  that  the  chiefs 
were  rallying  their  old  regiments. 

"  Here  is  the  beginning  of  another  trouble,""  he  said,  "  and 
all  arising  out  of  the  same  raid  here  that  put  my  nephew  in 
tronk  and  risked  my  property.  Madness  !  madness  !  all  of  it. 
The  Matabele  were  struck  all  of  a  heap  by  Jameson's  first 
attack  on  them.  He  marched  into  the  country  with  his  three 
columns,  never  giving  the  indunas  a  chance  to  make  head 
against  him,  and  sweeping  away  any  regiments  that  gathered 
w  ith  his  Maxims.  With  Lo  Ben  dead  they  submitted,  and 
could  have  been  held  by  the  strong  hand ;  but  with  Jameson 
and  his  troopers  not  only  away  but  actually  sent  over  sea  as 
prisoners,  of  course  they  revolt,  and  the  poor  women  and 
children  have  again  to  pay  the  penalty,  as  they  had  in  the 
Glencoe  disaster.''''  * 

The  next  morning  he  received  intelligence  of  further 
massacres,  and  that  Buluwayo  was  threatened.  Before  break- 
fast he  dictated  his  plan  for  affording  help. 

The  eastern  province  of  the  Cape  Colony,  from  the  Fish 
River  to  the  Transkei,  contains  the  very  flower  of  the  man- 
hood of  South  Africa.  Inured  to  native  warfare  in  the  Kafir 
wars  of  the  borderland,  happily  now  long  past  never  to  recur,, 
the  farmers  and  their  stalwart  sons  have  always  been  ready 
to  volunteer  for  dangerous  enterprises,  and  it  was  from  these 
that  gallant  Captain  Landry  had  in  his  youth  gone  to  serve 
in  the  Crimea,  and  in  his  later  years  had  led  his  volunteer 
troop  ( Landry ""s  Horse)  to  the  Diamond  Fields  when  danger 
threatened. 

*  The  Glencoe  disaster  was  a  terrible  railway  accident  which  occurred 
on  December  30,  1895,  to  a  train  crowded  with  refugees  from  the  Trans- 
vaal who  were  seeking  safety  in  Natal.  The  light  and  altogether 
unsuitable  saloon  corridor  carriages  of  the  Netherlands  Railway  Company 
were  crowded  to  their  utmost  holding  capacity  with  women  and  children 
flying  from  the  expected  Boer  bullets  and  the  frenzied  rapine  of  drunken 
Kafirs.  While  travelling  at  thirty  miles  an  hour  through  a  deep  rocky 
cutting  they  left  the  rails  and  over  fifty,  chiefly  mothers  and  little  children, 
were  killed,  while  the  cases  of  serious  injury  exceeded  100. 

N 


194  B.   I.   BARNATO 

"There,"  said  Bariiato,  "are  to  be  found  the  men  I 
want.  I  will  at  once  equip  a  hundred  mounted  infantry  to 
help  in  Rhodesia  and  save  as  many  of  these  poor  women  and 
children  as  possible.  There  will  be  no  difficulty  about  obtain- 
ing this  number  from  the  best  of  the  border  men.  They  can 
be  here  in  a  fortnight,  and  all  arms  and  equipment  can  then 
be  ready  for  them  to  go  straight  away.  In  a  month  from 
to-day,  they  shall  be  in  Buluwayo,  Another  company  can 
be  fitted  out  to  follow  after  them.  Through  the  Zoutpans- 
berg  will  be  the  best  route.  Work  up  all  details  of  equip- 
ment and  arms  to-day,  and  go  down  to  see  Landry  as  to 
enrolling  the  men  to-night.  He  will  help  if  he  can  ;  at  any 
rate,  you  know  all  the  men.  I  will  Avire  to  Capetown  this 
mornino;  what  I  am  doinff." 

During  the  afternoon,  however,  in  consequence  of  the 
reply  from  Capetown,  he  abandoned  the  plan. 

"  It  is  awful  to  think  of,'"*  he  said  the  same  night  after 
dinner,  "  that  those  j)oor  women  should  be  slaughtered 
by  the  Matabele,  but  I  can  do  nothing  now.  And  my 
men  could  have  been  there  quicker  than  any  other  reinforce- 
ments.^ 

Each  company  was  to  have  consisted  of  100  men  in  the 
ranks,  and  with  officers,  sergeants,  commissariat  and  transport 
staff,  jNIaxim  gun  crew,  and  three  surgeons,  would  have 
numbered  150  all  told.  Each  company  thus  constituted  was 
to  be  accompanied  by  200  chosen  native  auxiliaries. 

Early  in  June  he  decided  to  return  to  Capetown  and 
proceed  thence  to  England.  All  Transvaal  business  had 
been  again  placed  in  good  trim,  and  his  g-uiding  hand  was  no 
longer  required.  The  strain,  however,  had  been  very  gi'eat, 
and  he  felt,  and  dreaded  to  feel,  the  effects.  He  complained 
again  of  being  unable  to  cast  off  the  work.  Finding  him  one 
morning  looking  very  tired  and  worn  when  he  came  down  to 
me,  as  was  frequently  his  custom,  clad  only  in  pyjamas,  to 
take  moniing  coffee  on  the  stoep,  I  remarked  cm  this,  and 
asked  if  he  had  not  been  sleeping  well. 


REVOLUTION  AND   RAID  195 

"  Oh  yes,  I  sleep  all  right,  but  I  can't  forget  the  work  ;  it  is 
too  much  now ;  I  feel  it,  and  yet  I  can't  leave  it  off." 

"  Try  and  read  a  little,"  I  suggested'. 

"  Well,  I  don't  mind  ;  what  shall  I  read  ?  " 

"  Oh,  something  light,  in  the  short  story  line,  that  you  can 
think  over." 

"  Well,  what  ?    Tell  me  what,  and  Til  try  it." 

"  Here  is  a  favourite  book  of  my  own.  I  have  been 
reading  it  while  waiting  for  you.  Rudyard  Kipling's  '  Story 
of  the  Gadsbys.'     I  will  lend  it  to  you." 

"  All  right,  I'll  read  it  to-night." 

I  did  not  see  him  again  until  the  second  morning  after, 
and  then  asked  how  he  liked  the  book. 

"  I  like  it  very  much,  it  is  very  good,  very  clever.  I  did 
not  begin  it  until  early  yesterday  morning,  and  then  wondered 
what  you  had  given  me.  The  first  chapter  is  all  about  girls 
and  darning  stocking-s.  But  do  you  know,  I  put  it  in  my 
pocket  when  I  went  down  to  the  office,  and  looking  at  it 
again  I  sat  there  till  I  had  finished  it.  I  did  what  I  do  not 
ever  remeniber  to  have  done  before,  and  clean  forgot  a  Board 

meeting.     C reminded  me  of  the  meeting,  but  I  sat  to 

finish." 

"  If  it  made  you  forget  youi'self  for  a  while  you  had  better 
try  the  same  prescription  again." 

"  No,  it  takes  up  too  much  time.  The  '  Heriot  Woman  ' 
played  her  cards  badly,  but  she  had  no  chance." 

We  discussed  the  loves  of  Captain  Gadsby  until  breakfast- 
time. 

I  repeatedly  tried  to  induce  him  to  make  another  incursion 
into  light  literature,  but  without  success.  He  had  no  time 
for  it,  he  said. 

The  last  occasion  on  which  I  saw  him  was  about  a  fort- 
night before  he  left  England  in  November  1896,  for  the  trip  to 
South  Africa  from  which  he  was  not  to  return  alive.  He  said  : 

"  I'll  get  the  book  of  Kipling's  you  lent  me  in  Johannes- 
burg.    I  think  it  will  do  me  good  to  read  it  again." 


196  B.    I.   BARNATO 

The  special  1896  visit  was  paid  to  Johannesburg  at 
the  height  of  the  bicycle  craze  in  England,  and  both 
Bamato  and  his  wife  and  their  little  three-year-old 
daughter  had  cycles  and  rode  them.  During  the  three 
months  of  the  stay  in  Johannesburg  Mr.  Barnato  did  not 
use  his  machine  more  than  five  times.  It  was  the  same  cry, 
want  of  time,  too  much  to  think  about.  Yet  he  made  it 
very  clear  that  it  was  not  worry  or  anxiety  as  to  either 
present  or  future  that  so  occupied  him,  but  merely  the  vast- 
ness  of  the  details  of  his  multifarious  projects.  One  morning 
at  this  time  I  suggested  to  him  that  instead  of  the  usual 
interview  on  the  stoep,  he  should  cycle,  and  he  could  talk 
just  the  same. 

"  We'll  have  the  can'iage  round,  and  drive  to  the  Berea . 
I  can  talk  to  you  then,  but  I  can't  on  the  bicycle.  Wony  ! 
it  is  not  woiTy.  That  means  anxiety  and  uncertainty  as  to 
the  future,  with  possible  failure.  I  have  never  had  a  business 
worry  since  the  Kimberley  amalgamation  days.  There  is 
going  to  be  no  failure  in  anything.  I  know  how  all  my 
work  is  shaping,  and  everything  is  going  right.  While  I  am 
here  there  is  Woolfie  (Woolf  Joel)  in  London ;  when  I  am 
there,  Solly  (S.  B.  Joel)  is  here.  It  is  the  immense  amount 
of  the  work  that  presses  me  so,  and,  as  you  know  by  this 
time,  I  must  look  into  everything  for  myself.  It  will  be 
better  in  the  future.  The  companies  can  look  after  them- 
selves under  their  own  directors.  I  have  brought  all  my 
miscellaneous  mining  interests  together  under  the  Bamato 
Consolidated  Mines.  It  only  remains  for  me  to  consolidate 
all  my  industrial  enterjirises." 

Of  the  particular  enterprises  that  so  occupied  his  attention 
by  their  detail  management,  none  was  more  troublesome 
than  the  Waterworks  Company  for  the  supply  of  Johannes- 
burg. The  previous  summer  had  been  deficient  in  the  usual 
rains,  the  existing  sources  of  supply  were  clearly  inadequate, 
and  the  town  and  district  were  increasing  rapidly  in  extent 
and  })opulation.     T"Tiere  had  been  much  discontent,  artfully 


REVOLUTION  AND   RAID  197 

fomented  by  the  promotei-s  of  rival  schemes,  and,  in  addition, 
it  became  evident  that  the  fresh  source  of  supplv,  acquired 
the  previous  year,  and  now  about  to  be  brought  into  service, 
would  only  afford  a  temporary  relief.  Every  possible  source 
of  further  supply  within  a  radius  of  fifty  miles  of  Johannes- 
biu'g  was  carefully  examined  in  detail,  and  he  went  through 
every  report.  The  most  promising  water  source  was,  in  his 
opinion,  Steinkoppjes,  the  actual  fountain  head  of  the 
Crocodile  River,  where,  at  a  distance  of  thirty-five  miles  from 
Johannesburg,  there  was  at  half  a  mile  from  the  fountain 
head,  after  prolonged  droughts  and  in  the  driest  season  of 
the  year,  a  swiftly  flowing  stream,  twelve  feet  wide  by  five 
feet  deep.  For  the  time,  however,  he  considered  that  the 
water  sources  available,  together  with  the  increased  supplies 
from  fresh  borings,  must  suffice,  and  he  postponed  further 
action  for  another  year.  He  explained  his  reasons  for  this 
very  fully. 

"  I  have  and  always  have  had  to  go  very  carefully  with  this 
water  business.  If  I  had  not  from  the  first  been  careful  to 
associate  a  sound  real  estate  business  with  the  supplying  of 
water  the  enterprise  would  never  have  paid  at  all.  It  is 
doing  well  now  with  a  small  capital,  will  do  much  better,  and 
there  are  going  to  be  no  risks.  In  mining  ventures  the 
public  know  there  is  a  risk  :  it  is  a  case  of  winning  much  or 
losing.  Water  companies  are  different.  They  are  the  chosen 
investment  of  small  people,  clergy,  professional  men,  and 
their  widows.  This  class  of  investors  holds  largely  in  the 
Johannesburg  Water  Works  Company  because  my  name  is 
connected  with  it.  It  would  be  very  easy  for  me  at  once  to 
put  on  foot  the  necessary  works  for  bringing  in  Steinkoppjes, 
and  for  ^£"250,000  to  supply  all  the  water  that  the  whole  of 
the  Witwatersrand  district  can  ever  need.  I  have  no  doubt 
as  to  success  and  I  have  already  bought  all  rights,  but  look 
what  might  happen.  You  know,  but  the  people  at  home  do 
not  understand,  that  the  Waterworks  Company,  alone  of  all 
the  enterprises  connnenced   in  the  Transvaal,  has   no   con- 


198  B.   I.   BARNATO 

cession, no  exclusive  I'ight.    You  know  how and have 

all  schemes  for  rival  companies  to  foist  on  the  public,  how 
they  have  been  endeavouring  for  years  to  get  the  Pretoria 
people  to  give  or  sell  them  concessions  as  the  only  course  to 
give  their  projects  an  apj^earance  of  value.     I  know  most  of 

what  is  going  on,  but  suppose came  out  some  day  with 

a  concession  and  was  able  to  find  the  capital.  I  might  be 
shut  out  from  participating  in  the  increase  of  the  town,  and 
have  his  pipes  alongside  of  mine.  It  would  be  a  rank 
injustice  I  know,  but  consider  the  people  we  have  to  deal  with 
at  Pretoria.  Some  of  them  in  the  past  have  been  ready  to 
sell  their  souls  for  a  new  carriage  or  a  gold  watch.  No, 
Johannesburg  never  has  wanted  water,  it  shall  not  want  it, 
even  though  when  the  pressure  is  low  we  do  have  to  send  it 
round  in  carts  again ;  but  I  am  going  to  take  no  risks  for 
those  who  have  trusted  me,  and  spend  no  money  that  the 
widow  and  the  orphan  cannot  again  get  at  call.  D'ye  under- 
stand ?  DVe  follow  me  ?  The  people  here  grumble  some- 
times about  the  water,  and  you  newspaper  men  make 
headlines  about  '  AVater  Famine,*'  and  a  'Grinding  Monopoly.^ 
Just  remember  there  hasn"'t  been  any  water  famine  yet  and 
there  isn't  going  to  be ;  and  there  is  no  monopoly." 

"  Did  you  ever  try  to  obtain  a  concession  ?  "" 

"  If  I  could  have  got  a  concession  and  secured  a  monopoly 
I  would  have  done  so  years  ago,  and  have  saved  myself  con- 
stant work.  This  Johannesburg  water  has  cost  me  more 
time  and  trouble  than  anything  else  I  have  in  hand,  and  I 
don't  and  never  shall  get  any  thanks  for  it."" 

He  had  already  made  several  special  donations  and  gifts  to 
the  Johannesburg  hospital,  and  before  he  concluded  this,  his 
penultimate  visit,  he  gave  dClOjOOO  to  build  a  new  wing  and 
increase  the  accommodation  for  in-patients  by  one  hundred 
beds.  This  Baniato  wing  has  now  been  completed  from  the 
plans  of  Mr.  Ileid,  the  eminent  Johannesburg  architect,  and 
is  fully  utilised  for  the  relief  of  white  and  black. 

AVhen  he  left   Johannesburg  with   Mi-s.  Barnato,  the  two 


REVOLUTION  AND  RAID  199 

children  and  his  personal  seiTants,  the  departure  was  un- 
expected, as  were  most  of  his  movements,  unless  he  had  a 
distinct  purpose  to  serve  by  advertising  them  ;  but  there  is 
always  a  great  gathering  of  both  business  men  and  private 
people  at  the  Johannesburg  railway  station  for  the  departure 
of  the  weekly  mail  train,  and  that  he  was  going  was  soon  noised 
abroad.  He  had  consequently  to  make  his  way  to  the  car 
through  hundreds  of  friends  all  seeking  a  concluding  hand- 
shake and  the  kindly  word  that  never  failed  to  accompany  it. 
As  the  train  steamed  out  of  the  station,  every  platform,  the 
earthen  banks  and  timber  erections  for  the  new  works  then 
in  progress,  and  every  place  of  vantage,  all  were  closely  packed 
to  speed  the  departure  of  the  most  popular  man  connected 
with  the  Transvaal.  He  stood  with  Mrs.  Bamato  on  the  end 
platform  of  the  car,  evidently  much  affected,  and  waved  adieu 
to  the  cheering  thousands  until  the  train  curved  from  view. 
Those  ringing  cheers  marked  his  last  triumphant  departure. 


CHA1»1^ER    XIV 
THE   CLOSING   SCENES 

Last  months  in  England — Against  the  tide — The  hunted  man — A 
pack  in  full  cry — The  last  departure  for  South  Africa — Gathering 
the  reins  at  the  Rand — Weary  and  ill — In  Parliament  again — The 
unfinished  voyage 

Ix  July  1896  Barnato  returned  to  England,  much  worn  by  his 
heavy  work  on  the  Rand,  and  having  ever  in  mind  the  need 
for  further  consolidation  of  his  various  industrial  enterprises, 
as  apart  from  the  mining  propositions.  The  wild  rush  of 
speculation  in  the  previous  year,  when  the  mere  hint  of  an 
intention  to  found  the  Barnato  Bank  had  sufficed  to  inflate 
prices  far  beyond  even  his  control,  had  made  the  work  of 
piloting  the  ship  through  the  shallows  of  the  slump  a  work  of 
the  greatest  difficulty  ;  and  he  had  decided  that  the  best 
course  to  adopt  in  the  interest  of  his  shareholders  was  to  let 
the  Bank  be  towed  in  the  wake  of  the  Johannesburg  Consoli- 
dated  Investment  Company.  To  effect  this  aiTangement  and 
reconcile  all  the  various  interests  was  the  work  of  the 
next  five  months.  It  was  incessant  wearying  work,  not 
merely  unrelieved  by  the  popular  applause  which  for 
years  had  attended  all  his  undertakings,  but  made  more 
difficult  by  the  constant  attacks  of  hosts  who  had  before 
lauded  him. 

In  1895  he  had  been  the  great  centre  of  interest  in  the 
financial  world,  and  he  had  accepted  the  incense  freely  offered 
by  the  votaries  of  Mammon.  He  lived  and  moved  then, 
without    being   able  to   escape,   surrounded    by    crowds    of 


THE   CLOSING  rSCENES  201 

worshippei-s  eager  to  note  every  trivial  circumstance.  His 
horse  stumbled  and  there  was  a  slight  accident  to  his  cab  :  at 
once  London  and  the  world  was  notified  that  an  accident  had 
happened  to  Mr.  Barnato,  the  South  African  millionaire. 
He  fancied  a  red  herring  for  his  breakfast :  the  ubiquitous 
interviewer  caught  him  at  the  meal,  and  the  fact  was 
published  for  the  edification  of  the  faithful.  At  railway 
stations  jjeople  rushed  to  stare  at  him,  and  when,  during  a 
brief  stay  at  Brighton,  he  still  kept  the  open  table  which  the 
custom  of  years  had  rendered  a  matter  of  course,  his  menus, 
aijd  the  daily  cost  of  his  luncheons,  formed  fruitful  subjects 
for  imaginative  young  journalists  to  dilate  upon.  He  was 
the  financial  lion  of  the  hour  and  could  not  escape  the  process 
of  lionisation  ;  neither  could  he  command  attention  when  the 
gaze  of  the  crowd  hatl.  been  satisfied  and  a  new  lion  had  been 
found.  The  change  came  long  before  the  end  of  the  year. 
As  a  tried  and  experienced  mai'iner  in  the  sea  of  finance  he 
had,  with  a  full  knowledge  of  the  course,  gone  confidently  on, 
with  all  his  argosies  in  full  sail,  sure  that  the  flowing  tide 
would  bear  him  safely  into  port ;  but  suddenly  the  cm-rent 
turned,  and  for  the  first  time  in  his  life  he  knew  not  why. 

The  signs  of  a  falling  market  became  evident  in  Sep- 
tember 1895.  In  October  there  was  no  question  but  that 
the  threatening  slump  was  upon  the  market,  and  Barnato  did 
actually  all  he  could  to  arrest  it,  not  knowing  whence  it  came. 
As  a  result  of  his  efforts  prices  came  down  gradually, 
the  fearful  panic  of  a  sudden  fall  was  avoided,  and  he  lost 
without  hope  of  recovery  three  millions  of  money ;  receiving 
in  return  that  rare  testimonial,  a  Mansion  House  Banquet  of 
Honour.  It  is  not  in  this  place  that  an  apology  for  such  a 
testimonial  is  to  be  written,  but  there  is  a  little  story  of  a 
boy  who  discovered  a  small  leak  in  a  Dutch  dyke;  who, 
having  nothing  else  at  hand  to  prevent  the  rapid  flow  of 
water,  plugged  the  hole  with  his  hand,  and  remaining  there 
for  houi-s,  saved  the  land  from  annihilation.  He  was  called  a 
hero,  and  no  doubt,  if  enemies  had  persistently  endeavoureil  to 


202  B.    I.   BARNATO 

enlarge  the  hole,  he  would  gladly  have  wedged  his  whole  body 
in  to  prevent  the  flood. 

When  the  Johannesburg  revolution  was  attempted,  and 
the  raid  attended  it,  then  for  the  first  time  Barnato  realised 
the  forces  that  had  been  an-ayed  against  him  in  the  struggle 
to  maintain  prices,  and  he  knew  why  he  had  been  left. 
Fresh  from  this  financial  fight  he  went  out  hastily  to  save 
those  who  had  been  the  agents  of  the  evil.  In  the  previous 
chapter  the  work  that  he  then  accomplished  has  been  so  far 
dealt  with,  but  it  is  not  in  this  memoir  that  the  whole  work 
of  those  agents  of  the  evil  can  be  fully  and  truly  told. 

He  came  back  to  build  anew,  to  reconstruct  and  amal- 
gamate, but  nothing  that  he  could  do  pleased  his  censors. 
Whereas  one  or  two  journals  only  had  before  kept  up  a 
traditional  policy  of  opposing  him,  now  it  seemed  to  him 
that  there  was  a  great  pack  following  in  full  cry.  For  five 
months  he  went  steadily  on  his  way,  showing  few  signs  that 
the  strain  was  telling ;  then  came  the  time  in  November  when 
S.  B.  Joel  was  due  to  return  to  the  Rand,  and  the  day  before 
his  departure  Barnato  suddenly  thought  he  would  go  back 
with  him,  but  was  dissuaded  and  gave  up  the  idea.  The 
next  day,  Saturday,  he  went  to  Southampton  to  see  his 
nephew  off,  and  then  on  the  mail-boat  determined  to  go  as 
far  as  Madeira  for  a  fortnight's  rest.  On  an-iving  there  he 
received  news,  both  South  African  and  English,  which  showed 
that  he  was,  as  he  considered,  being  hunted  more  closely  than 
ever.  He  determined  that  he  would  continue  the  journey, 
would  once  again  take  the  detail  supervision  of  every  project 
he  had  in  hand ;  and  when  he  had  commanded  success,  would 
again  return  to  London  with  new  projects,  new  flotations,  able 
once  again  to  proudly  declare  : 

"  I  have  never  made  a  mistake  in  the  investment  of  money 
in  my  life."" 

Just  before  he  went  away  he  had  a  very  long  conversation 
with  Louis  Cohen,  and  roughly  totted  u])  his  financial  position. 
Cohen  said : 


THE   CLOSING   SCENES 

"  What  do  you  want  to  go  on  slaving  for  ?  If  you  make 
five  millions  more,  what  good  will  it  do  you  ? ''" 

"  No  good,  but,"  pointing  to  a  photograph  of  his  two  little 
boys,  "  when  I  am  dead  I  would  like  those  two  boys,  as 
gi*own-up  men,  to  point  to  my  portrait  and  say,  '  Well,  he 
was  a  clever  little  chap  that  father  of  oui's/  " 

One  evening  about  this  time  he  went  to  the  Court  Theatre, 
also  with  Louis  Cohen.  No  seats  had  been  booked  ;  Bai*nato, 
as  usual,  had  no  money,  and  Louis  Cohen  had  only  a 
sovereign.  Barnato  borrowed  this,  saying  that  he  would 
engineer  the  other  shilling  for  their  stalls  somehow.  Under 
the  portico  of  the  theatre  was  a  man,  not  quite  blind,  but 
with  defective  sight,  who  solicited  charity.  Barnato  turned 
to  Cohen,  saying : 

"  Do  you  mind,  Lou,  if  we  go  into  the  circle,  instead  of 
stalls  ?  " 

"  Oh  no ;  j  ust  as  you  please."" 

He  then  went  to  the  office  and  asked  for  two  circle  seats. 

"■  Very  sorry,  sir,  but  all  are  gone.  I  can  give  you  two  side- 
stalls  if  thev  will  do." 

A  huge  smile  broke  over  Baniato's  face.  "  I  have  not  come 
prepared  to  pay  for  stalls,""  he  said. 

"  Very  well,  sir.  You  can  have  the  stalls  for  circle 
price."" 

He  took  his  vouchers  for  the  seats,  went  out  to  the  man, 
gave  him  the  whole  five  shillings  change,  and  turning  to 
Cohen,  said : 

"  Now,  that  is  what  I  call  finance."'"' 

Apropos  of  finance,  Barnato  was  one  day  discussing  with 
mvself  the  chief  financial  measures  of  recent  English  Govern- 
ments, a  subject  Avhich  he  studied  most  closely.     He  said  : 

"  The  two  most  brilliant  financial  suggestions  I  can  call  to 
mind  in  the  whole  of  Government  finance,  either  British  or 
foreign,  are  the  match-tax  of  Robert  Lowe  and  the  wheel -tax 
of  Goschen.  If  these  taxes  had  been  agreed  to  they  would 
have  brouffht  in  huge  revenues.     The  match-tax  would  have 


204  B.   I.   BARNATO 

been  felt  by  no  one,  and,  so  far  from  adversely  affecting  the 
match-workers,  would,  under  the  conditions  of  foreign  com- 
petition since  developed,  have  been  a  material  protection. 
The  wheel-tax  is  absolutely  the  only  way  of  making  the 
people  who  use  the  roads  most  for  trade  purposes  pay  their 
proper  share  towards  the  cost  of  maintenance  and  repair. 
Yet  the  match-tax  proposals  wrecked  Lowe's  career,  and  the 
wheel-tax  was  nearly  as  fatal  to  Goschen." 

For  five  months  he  worked  in  Johannesburg  without  rest, 
but  not  as  before  without  fatigue.  He  was  no  longer  the 
Barney  of  the  old  camp-days,  fit  for  everything  and  always 
fit.  He  began  to  suffer  from  sleeplessness,  and  could  not  bear 
ever  to  be  alone.  Towards  the  middle  of  April  he  fell  ill — 
nothing  serious,  a  slight  fever  with  great  prostration  and  some 
delirium.  He  was  persuaded  to  quit  work  entirely  and  go  to 
Capetown.  There  he  took  his  place  in  Parliament,  and 
when  the  question  of  the  subsidy  paid  by  the  Cape  Colony  to 
the  steamship  companies  for  the  postal  service  was  under 
consideration,  he  entered  into  the  debate  with  all  his  old 
energy.  He  condemned  in  scathing  terms  the  grinding 
monopoly  of  the  shipping  ring  which  battens  on  South 
African  industry ;  and  threatened  that  he  would,  in  certain 
eventualities,  himself  establish  a  competing  service  of  steamers, 
and  definitely  smash  the  confederation.  Then  he  became  ill 
again,  and  the  accessions  of  delirium  were  so  frequent  and 
serious  that  S.  B.  Joel  came  to  him  from  Johannesburg,  and 
arranged  to  accompany  him  to  England.  Barnato,  with  his 
wife  and  family  and  S.  B.  Joel,  sailed  for  England  in  the 
Scot  on  June  2. 

From  the  day  on  which  the  Scot  left  Table  Bay,  Barnato 
became  to  all  appearances  markedly  better.  The  loving 
care  of  wife  and  nephew  suffered  no  abatement  of  watch- 
fulness, for  he  still  disliked  to  be  left  alone  for  an  instant ; 
and  throughout  every  night  watch  was  kept  on  his  cabin  door, 
so  that,  even  should  he  desire  to  come  on  deck  in  the  night, 
because  of  the   occasional  sleeplessness,  he  would  find  some 


THE   CLOSING   SCENES  205 

one  to  walk  with  and  talk  to.  On  Monday  morning,  June  14, 
he  was  particularly  bright  and  well,  and  at  luncheon  displayed 
his  former  accustomed  happy  vivacity  and  lightheadedness. 
After  luncheon  he  conversed  with  several  fellow  jjassengers  on 
deck  for  a  while,  and  then  began  to  pace,  at  his  usual  hurried 
rate,  up  and  down  with  his  nephew.  After  nearly  an  hour 
of  this  promenade  S.  B.  Joel  suggested  resting,  but  Barnato 
prefen-ed  to  walk,  although  a  few  minutes  later  he  did  sit 
down. 

At  this  time  few  persons  seem  to  have  been  on  deck,  but 
some  yards  away,  Mr.  W.  T.  Clifford,  the  fourth  officer  of  the 
Scot,  was  taking  his  siesta,  nearly  asleep  in  a  deck-chair.  Sud- 
denly Barnato  asked  the  time,  and  S.  B.  Joel,  looking  at  his 
watch,  replied  that  it  was  thirteen  minutes  past  three  ;  as  he 
replaced  the  watch  in  his  pocket  Barnato  suddenly  sprang  over- 
board. There  had  been  no  warning  change  of  demeanour, 
no  conversation,  nothing  to  indicate  the  sudden  disturbance 
of  mental  balance,  Joel  cried  for  help,  and  Clifford,  hastilv 
awakened,  rushed  up,  and  without  hesitation  dived  from  the 
ship''s  rail.  There  had  been  a  stiff  gale  the  day  before, 
and  there  was  still  a  strong  wind  with  rough  sea,  while  the 
Scot  was  steadily  driving  on  at  her  regular  17  knots  an  hour. 
At  the  cry  of  "  Man  overboard  ! ""  buoys  were  thrown,  the  ship 
was  instantly  turned  to  retrace  her  course,  while,  before  the 
startled  passengers  could  crowd  the  decks,  a  lifeboat  was 
manned  and  launched,  and  was  speeding  on  its  way,  with 
doctor  on  board. 

Clifford  was  reached  first  by  the  lifeboat,  and  was  hauled 
on  board  unconscious  and  almost  spent.  A  few  yards  farther 
on  and  Barnato's  body  was  seen  floating  face  downwards  on  the 
water  motionless.  All  that  medical  skill  could  do  was  com- 
menced at  once  in  the  boat,  which  as  it  i-eturned  to  the  Scot 
was  greeted  with  loud  cheers  from  all  on  board  in  the  belief 
that  no  life  had  been  lost.  But  immediately  a  hush  fell  upon 
the  ship,  for,  as  the  boat  was  raised,  it  was  seen  that  the 
cheer  had  been  premature,     Clifford  was  saved  indeed,  but 


206  B.   I.   BARNATO 

the  man  he  had  gone  to  save  was  beyond  help.  For  two 
hours  artificial  respiration  was  continued  to  the  body  of 
Barnato,  without  avail,  and  it  was  reserved  for  an  English 
burial.  To  the  suddenly  and  so  fearfully  bereaved  wife 
and  nephew,  and  to  the  three  little  children,  too  young 
almost  to  know  what  had  happened  to  them,  the  heartfelt 
sympathy  of  all  on  board  went  out,  nor  was  the  living  hero 
forgotten.  An  address,  expressing  the  admiration  of  the  pas- 
sengers, was  drawn  up,  and  with  a  testimonial  purse  containing 
over  <£*100  hastily  collected,  was  presented  to  Mr.  Clifford  by 
Sir  Henry  de  Vllliers,  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  Cape  Colony, 
who,  with  the  Premier,  Sir  Gordon  Sprigg,  was  a  passenger  on 
board. 

The  Scot  arrived  at  Southampton  on  Friday  night,  June  18, 
and  immediately  an  inquest  was  held.  The  simple  and 
direct  evidence,  together  with  the  finding  of  the  jury  there- 
upon, completes  the  sad  story. 

The  first  witness  called  was  Mr.  S.  B.  Joel,  who  said  : 
"  I  was  a  fellow-passenger  with  the  deceased,  my  uncle, 
on  board  the  Scot.  About  a  quarter-past  three  last  Monday 
afternoon  we  were  walking  up  and  down  together.  I  was 
tired  and  wanted  to  rest,  but  he  declined  to  go  below,  and 
we  kept  walking  to  and  fro.  At  last  I  sat  down,  and  said  to 
him,  *  Come  and  sit  down."  He  said,  '  What  time  is  it  ^ ' 
I  pulled  out  my  watch  and  replied,  '  By  mv  watch  it  is 
thirteen  minutes  })ast  three.''  I  had  closed  my  watch,  and 
was  putting  it  back  in  my  pocket,  when  my  uncle  jumped 
overboard.  I  cried  out  '  Murder ! ''  and  tried  to  catch  hold  of 
him.  I  did  touch  the  bottom  of  his  trousers,  but  could  not 
hold.  Mr.  Clifford  was  near,  and  hearing  my  call,  rushed  up, 
saying,  '  What  is  it?''  I  pointed  to  my  uncle  in  the  water 
and  cried,  '  For  Code's  sake,  save  him  ! ""  Mr.  Clifford  at  once 
slipped  off  his  coat  and  jumped  into  the  water.  He  was 
then  perhaps  fifty  or  sixty  yards  from  my  uncle.  Several 
lifebuoys  were  thrown,  the  ship  was  stopped,  a  boat  was 
lowei^ed,  and  the  ship  was  turned  round.     The  officer  was 


THE   CLOSING  SCENES  207 

first  seen,  and  a  little  farther  on  ]Mr.  Barnato  was  picked 
up.  Every  endeavour  was  made  to  restore  him,  but 
unsuccessfully/^ 

The  Coroner  :  "  What  state  of  mind  was  the  deceased  in  ? '"' 

Mr.  S.  B.  Joel :  "  His  mind  wandered  at  times,  at  other  times 
he  Avas  well.  I  had  not  left  him  all  day.  He  was  not  violent 
at  all,  nor  had  he  shown  any  signs  of  suicidal  mania." 

Mr.  S.  B.  Joel  volunteered  this  further  statement :  "  Three 
weeks  before,  when  at  Johannesburg,  I  received  a  telegram 
from  Mrs.  Barnato  at  CapetoAvn  to  the  effect  that  her  husband 
was  in  a  very  bad  state  of  mind.  I  at  once  went  to  Cape- 
town, and  found  that  my  uncle  was  very  queer,  and  had  not 
been  to  bed  for  three  nights.  He  improved  sufficiently  to 
come  to  England  on  the  day  that  he  had  some  weeks  before 
arranged  for,  and  I  came  with  him  solely  to  look  after  him 
and  help  Mrs.  Barnato." 

Mr.  W.  T.  Clifford,  in  the  course  of  his  evidence,  said  "  that 
his  attention  was  called  by  Mr.  JoePs  shout,  and  after  some 
words  had  been  spoken  which  he  did  not  remember,  he  took 
off  his  coat  and  went  overboard.  He  was  not  able  to  reach 
the  body,  and  he  was  picked  up  by  the  ship''s  boat.  A  heavy 
sea  was  running,  but  he  had  the  deceased  in  view  for  some 
time.  He  got  rid  of  some  of  his  clothes,  but  what  remained 
hampered  him  so  that  he  made  little  progress,  and  went  under 
water.  Then  he  saw  a  lifebuoy  close  by  and  caught  hold  of 
it.  He  did  not  remember  what  else  happened,  but  he  was 
told  afterwards  that  when  picked  up  he  was  within  ten  yards 
of  the  body." 

The  jury  returned  a  verdict  of  "  Death  by  drowning  while 
temporarily  insane." 

On  the  Saturday  night  Barnato''s  body  was  conveyed  by 
special  train  from  Southampton  to  London  to  the  house  of  his 
sister,  Mrs.  Joel,  No.  6  Hyde  Park  Mansions,  Marble  Arch, 
and  the  funeral  procession  started  thence  on  the  following 
Sunday  afternoon.  It  had  been  desired  that  this  last  cere- 
mony  should   be   as   simple  and  private  as  possible.     The 


208  B.    I.   lUUNATO 

mournei-s  were  the  brother,  Henry  I.  Barnato,  and  the 
nephews,  and  the  funeral  ceremony  itself  was  conducted  at 
the  graveside  in  Willesden  Cemetery  with  the  severe  sim- 
plicity of  the  Hebrew  rite  ;  but  a  long  procession  of  nearly 
two  hundred  can*iages  followed  the  immediate  relatives,  con- 
taining business  and  private  friends,  men  of  all  ranks,  who 
desired  to  render  this  last  mark  of  respect ;  while  many 
thousands  followed  on  foot,  and  the  whole  length  of  the 
miles  of  streets  from  the  house  to  the  grave  was  lined  with 
people. 

He  was  laid  to  rest  by  the  side  of  his  father. 

*  *  He  ^  *^ 

He  who  as  a  sturdy,  broad-shouldered  boy,  twenty-five 
years  before  had  gone  full  of  hope,  fire,  resolution,  and  energy, 
to  seek  name  and  fortune  in  the  distant  desert,  had  found 
both  ;  but,  in  the  height  of  his  career,  with  every  jjrize  that 
the  world  could  offer  open  to  him,  with  the  wife  of  his  young 
love  and  his  little  children  close  by,  with  every  domestic  and 
family  happiness  attending  him,  with  numbers  of  tried  fiiends 
no  less  devoted  than  were  his  own  relatives  at  his  call — had 
fallen. 


118702 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  UBRARY  FAQUTY 


A    nnn  7ftR  in*^    « 


